A Long Drabble Ago
by JainaDurron
Summary: These aren't strict, exactly 100 worded drabbles, but I thought I'd try my hand at writing some missing moments, short stories, and other random scenes I wish were canon. Mainly Han/Leia based. Please Enjoy!
1. SSR Project

A/N: Okay, so this "book" is going to be my own collection of drabbles, short stories, and one-shots that I've written, but I thought I'd start it with a little fanfic diary entry "story". In my English class, we were assigned to do projects concerning the books we'd been reading on our own during our SSR time. Of the project options given, I chose to do four diary entries from a character's POV about the events in the book. Of course, me being the fangirl I am, I did this project on Star Wars: Legacy of the Force Invincible. So, here's a little story from Jaina Solo's POV about the events of Invincible by Troy Denning.

1

Dear Diary,

Today, I finally proposed my plan to the Council. It was no fun, I can tell you that much. I had gone into that meeting room knowing what the worst part was going to be before I even began. And I was right. Just asking the Council to let me kill Caedus was hard enough, but watching Mom and Dad trying to hold it together and supporting me . . . I wanted to run away screaming. I wanted to tear my hair out and beg Uncle Luke to do it for me. But, I can't. It wouldn't be right. Through my uncle, the Force named me Sword of the Jedi and if this is what it's supposed to mean, I have to do it. I have no choice.

I've already come to terms with that kriffing awful fact. Thanks to my training time with [Boba] Fett, Mirta, Gotab, Venku, and Beviin, I have learned that my brother, Jacen Solo, is long dead. Thanks to the true Force auras my parents try to hide behind veneers, I have come to realize that Caedus killed the sweet, loving, caring brother I miss so dearly. That is why I must do this.

You may pity me, reflect on how sad this must be for a sister who loved her brother until he no longer loved her back. And, yes, I will admit, it hurts. But, quite honestly, I don't have time to pity myself. Or to even meditate on what I'm going to do. It's just another part of the Solo lifestyle.

Anyway, the Council agreed with my proposition. Master Durron even said they'd foreseen it! The fact that they'd been talking about it at length already just goes to show how we see my twin brother now: again, the long-dead Jedi Knight who died of his wounds in the Yuuzhan Vong War sometime after his captivity with Vergere. Yeah, thanks a lot, Vergere.

At least, I have one of the hardest parts of my plan completed now. All I have to do now is . . . actually do it. Fierfek, I'm going to need so much therapy. Force, help me!

2

Dear Diary,

I saw Allana for the first time today. She's so beautiful, small, and innocent. It makes me wonder how Jacen could have started down this dark path and become Caedus. When he has such innocence to protect, how could he be led so astray? It made me think about Grandfather, too. Though I never met the man, Sith or Jedi, but I truly had to think a moment about how he too could take such a dark turn when he had so much to protect and worry about. That's when I realized the answer to my question was ridiculously self explanatory. They decided on their dark path to protect their loved ones. As twisted as I see it, I have to make myself understand it the way that they must have seen it. It's no coincidence that they both chose to join the Sith around the time their children were born. It was once I realized this that I began seeing their side of things so clearly. How far will I go to protect them, they must have asked themselves every day. What all am I willing to do to keep Padmé, the baby, Tenel Ka, Allana safe? How far into the darkness will I go to keep them in the light?

Is that true love, I find myself wondering. Is that the right kind of love when it comes to a father and his wife, children? And how, with that goal in mind, could they both get so off track that they completely lose sight of their humanity and end up hurting their children worse than they were hurt before it all started? I know Mom still has scars on her back and shoulders from the interrogator droid on the first Death Star. It's impossible for Uncle Luke's right hand to grow back. And, I'm willing to bet Allana will never forget the time when her father kidnapped her from the Hapan Royal Palace. Those kinds of scars tend to stick.

I, as Allana's aunt, am prepared to do everything I must to preserve her future, let her be a kid again, make her feel more comfortable around her own family. I swear to uphold this and stay her loving aunt forever. The dark side will never overtake me. I've visited too many times to think I want to go back. Everything else around Allana Solo may shatter, but I intend to stay. She's not going to grow up like I did, still bearing scars of my grandfather's cruelty. She will know peace and she will remember her father as the loving man who had once meant good and cared for her more than anything else in this galaxy. She has to understand just like Mom eventually did. She will understand that Jacen was once good, wonderful, sweet, and she was his world before he destroyed it.

3

Dear Diary,

Since when did Mom and I become best friends? Honestly, we couldn't stand each other just a few years ago! Did Jacen really accomplish something within this massacre mess? I guess I'd like to believe that it wasn't him, but progress on me and Mom's behalves ourselves. Perhaps, we've reached a mutual understanding through one simple fact: thanks to people, things, and ideas such as the Force, my grandfather, the Emperor, and the Yuuzhan Vong . . . our lives . . . stink! Dad says I'm too much like her. The two of us are so alike we can only see the things we hate about ourselves in the other. Coincidentally, the main problem of ours that we share is one we both can't stand in each other: our work habits and addiction.

Today, though, for a nice change in things, this ridiculous circumstance actually made me feel better. Today was the day I was going to kill Darth Caedus. Now, don't get too hung up on that 'was going to'. Let's just say it was sort of nice to have a not-quite trial run fighting Caedus despite all the injuries sustained.

Dad set up the blastboat for me and freezed before leaving for the Falcon's cockpit. He stared at the floor for a long moment before he could muster the strength to look at me. "Hey, kid," his mouth trembled. "Do me a favor and come back alive, alright?"

Thinking about all the dangers of this mission, I couldn't say anything back to him. So, I just nodded. Then, he left, not looking back, and called Mom down to let the blastboat go. As she approached, I tried to ignore her Force presence; the remorse and grief that was swallowing her whole. I couldn't let it overwhelm me. She stopped outside the blastboat to set its controls and send me flying towards the Anakin Solo. Once she finished, she stepped inside the blastboat and caught me in a tight embrace. Willingly, I fell into her arms, overcome with racking sobs. "Please come back to me, Jaya," she cried, rubbing my back. "Please don't leave me and your dad. We need you, sweetie. We can't lose you, too." Too. I am the only remaining child of my parents. Of two sons and one daughter, I am the only one who remains. I'm not leaving Mom and Dad, I was constantly saying to myself. They need me to come back to them alive. "Do you hear me? You can't die on us, Jaina. Please. Come. Back." Tears stinging her eyes, she stepped back, out of the blastboat and set the controls to release it. Then, I sat there, hugging my knees to my chin, taking the time to cry then because there wouldn't be time for that later. The next time I saw Caedus, I had to be ready to kill him. I had to harness the power I inherited from Mom to stay strong no matter how much I was willing to let him strike me down first. This is for Mara, I thought to myself the whole trip to the Anakin. This is for Mara and Allana and everyone else Caedus has hurt. Even Mirta and her family.

4

Dear Diary,

How can I feel bad? How can I regret what I did even as the Council, the Order, even Mom and Dad tell me that it was right. It was the only way, they all insist, even my parents despite how much it breaks their hearts to admit it. Caedus was on a path of destruction and someone needed to stop him. But, I'm always going to wonder if I really did the right thing, wonder if there was ever a chance to truly redeem him. I'm always going to hate myself for not giving him one more chance. It's always going to kill me when I remember Jacen(no, I don't mean Caedus) standing there, not defending himself as I came at him, bringing my lightsaber to slice through his chest as he started reaching through the Force, yelling, screaming at Tenel Ka to warn her about the Moffs' nanokiller . . .

And then he died.

My mouth fell as I caught his last act too late. Guilt swallowed me whole and sent me diving for his body as it fell. I screamed at myself as I gathered him, gently pulled his body and rested him in my lap. I stroked his hair, futilely trying to stop the blood freely flowing from his stomach. You're not really dead, I tried telling myself. You're not really dead!

I remember Jag was the first one to find me in the disposal pit. He saw me, bloody, cut up, covered in bruises, holding Jacen in my lap. "Han, Leia! I found her! Hurry!" he yelled before running to my side and pulling Jacen out of my lap. That made me angry and I hurled him with the Force to the nearest wall. I screamed at him what meant to be, 'Don't touch him', but came out, "Doonguchem!" Nothing short of brave, he picked himself up and approached me more slowly to comfort me, this time not touching Jacen. "Help's on the way, Jaina," he said, taking my hand after giving me a stim-shot. "You're going to be fine." Honestly, at that moment, I didn't care if I was fine. More than anything, I wanted Jacen to be fine, to be alive so he could come back to us and be the father to Allana he always meant to be.

Mom and Dad came running in, falling to my side to work on my injuries. I caught them risking glances at the remains of their son. As strong as they are, I noticed it the moment their lips begin to quiver and when their eyes watered. We all hurt. We all will never be the same after this whole ordeal. So, when get back to the Jedi base on Shedu Maad and out of a bacta tank, I break with them. They are the only ones I allow myself to break in front of. That is, excluding Jacen. Mom strokes my hair as if just for the purpose of busying her hands so she doesn't start pulling her hair out in anger and profound sadness. "I'm just happy you're alive," she mutters, planting a soft kiss on the top of my head. "We still need you."

Then, they bring in a little girl and introduce me to her. Her name is Amelia, they tell me even though I know the truth when I look into her eyes and see her father and mother there. I can pick out all the tiny details of her parents in her. I see Tenel Ka in her coloration even though her hair is dyed. I see Jacen in those big, loving, compassionate eyes. She is her father's daughter, the same girl my beloved brother went to such extremes for. It is Allana.

I don't want to say Allana can replace the hole left by Jacen in our family, but she's filled some kind of gap and I don't feel so empty anymore. Despite all the losses my family has suffered(Chewie, Aunt Mara, Anakin, Jacen), Allana seems like enough for us now. Yes, for now, she is. And she's so much like Jacen, too! It almost hurts. But, on the other hand, it only helps fill the gap.

"Hello, Jaina," she says, timidly. "They tell me we're going to be sisters now."

I look through the short hair and black dye, look at my niece for a moment and see a brighter future lying ahead, see a new hope brimming in her eyes. "I guess we are, Amelia. Welcome to the family."


	2. Solo

Wearing a tight white, laced, flowing dress with her hair pinned up, loose curls framing her face, and a string of pearls adorning her neck, Leia Organa watched herself in the mirror.  
She smiled, deliriously, just imagining how the day would play out.  
By tonight, she would be married to her dreamy, dashing smuggler and he wouldn't be so Solo anymore.


	3. A Positive Hope

How such a thing was possible, Leia couldn't comprehend. So little it took to make something so wonderful, but the pain when it didn't work . . . it hurt worse than she thought it would.

Leia brushed her bangs past her ears and wiped her eyes on her long sleeve. Her sleeve came away wet. She stared at the test for a second longer before jumping to her feet to leave. Before she could even leave the refresher, though, she was overcome by racking sobs and she leaned against the door, pounding on it, trying to make the pain stop. She slid back down to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and crying, sobbing into her arms. It wasn't fair, she thought. It wasn't fair. She'd finally seen this whole scenario as Han saw it and Leia wanted no more than to feel that kind of joy. But, the two had been trying several months for their first child with no success.

Today she'd been hoping. Today, she'd been hoping the morning's results would be different. But, they weren't. A part of her almost felt bad, guilty. As though she "knew" it was safe to assume that she was the one to blame, that maybe she wasn't capable of carrying. It would break Han's heart, Leia knew, as it had hers. He'd spent their first several months begging, working feverishly to convince her it was okay, to show her how wonderful their lives could be if they made just one more addition to their duo. And Leia, after months of Han's relentless efforts, had fallen in love with the idea, fallen in love with the image she'd conjured in her mind of a precious child that was half hers and half Han's. Perhaps, it wasn't meant to be.

Sniffling, wiping the last tears away, Leia got up and left for the Solo family room. Family room. Though the term 'living room' was predominantly used by both, Han had started calling it the family room when Leia had agreed to starting a family. It would be their family room, for their family.

She sighed in defeat, dropping the pregnancy test into a little baggy with the rest. She went to the comm station to tell Doctor Cilghal the repeating results when she noticed the Healer had sent her a message already. She frowned, opening it up.

"Leia, I'm home!" she faintly heard Han call as the entry door opened.

Her eyes quickly skimmed over the message, widening when she reached the end. She mentally highlighted the last sentence, tears already brimming in her eyes. Her hands flew to her mouth and her body began to tremble and shake.

"Leia," Han said, coming up from behind her to wrap her up in his arms. "How are you Princess?"

Leia turned in his arms, still trembling. She stood on her toes, bringing her mouth to his ear to nervously whisper, "Han, we're pregnant."


	4. Backwards

"Did it work?" she asked again. Allana could only shrug at her aunt's question as she scurried about the ship, making sure they had landed safely and no harm had come to her baby. Her grandfather had the Falcon, she had the Chance.

Her and her aunt had just attempted a new trick with the Force that could be revolutionary, but also extremely dangerous, if successful. Time travel. Her aunt had picked the destination and Allana was genuinely scared about what time Jaina had chosen. There was a deep fear that she held inside herself about seeing her father again, when he was younger, innocent, so much kinder than he had become. Allana knew she was taking a risk by trusting her aunt, but she was excited about this too.

She finally stopped chasing her own tail around her ship and rested her hands on the control board. "Why don't we finally go see?" Jaina gave the landing ramp, which was not yet lowered, a wild look of eager, thrill, and anticipation. She ran forward and, with nervous hands, worked to lower the ramp. It clicked as it unlocked. Jaina stopped to trade an excited look with her niece. "Well?!" Allana shouted at her, pushing on the ramp. "Let's go see!"

Quickly, Jaina shoved it open and descended the ramp. She pulled a casual cloak over her features, only showing her eyes. She'dd never worn such an accessory, but insisted that, if this really worked, it would be necessary. Allana followed her down calm streets flooded with people carrying paintings and cloths in their arms. The scene was peaceful, calming, friendly, and everyone seemed very happy. It amazed Allana.

"You look foreign," said a voice, startling Allana out of her reverie. "Where are you two darlings from?" She turned to see a young man with dark, curly hair and olive skin approaching her. He smiled warmly. But, his thick accent caught her off guard. For some reason, it sounded so familiar!

"Uh, Corellia," she answered, reaching out a hand to shake his. "And Hapes."

"Well, it is a wonderful time to visit Alderaan," he said, taking a glance around. Allana swung her gaze to her aunt who just smiled back. "Aldera's art shows are just wonderful this time of the year. The sun is out, inspiration is aplenty. Well, it was wonderful meeting you both. Please, do enjoy your stay!"

She nodded. "Thank you." So, that was why his accent sounded so familiar! She was used to hearing that Alderaanian accent from Leia. Her grandmother had never lost her Alderaanian accent even to this day. She looked back to Jaina and asked, "Why Alderaan?"

"I grew up with stories about this place. Me, your father, and uncle were left to come up with our own pictures of what Crevasse City and Aldera must have looked like. I have always wished I could actually see it one day. And here it is."

"What year is it?"

"Mom would be a little girl, probably about four or five."

"You're kidding!"

They took a look around at all the beautiful, artistic paintings until Jaina found one she thought she recognized from being shown by her mother. It was one of Leia's favorites and Jaina's as well. It was a world, which one doesn't matter, but it was painted in all kinds of exotic, extravagant colors. It was a painting done by the great Veno Accenio.

"Lelila!" they both heard a woman call out to her daughter as she chased her around the vendors. "Lelila, slow down, sweetheart!"

"But, Mama! Accenio's paintings are over here! Come on, Mama! Papa!"

An older man chuckled, following after her. "Relax, Lelila. We have all day. We're coming."

The little girl skidded to a stop in front of Accenio's painted world and she sat down in the grass to just stare at it. She had long brown hair tied up in mini buns and deep brown eyes. She froze, looked to Jaina and Allana. "Do you like Accenio's My New World too?" she asked. Jaina sat down next to her mother and nodded. "Yeah, I do. It's my favorite painting."

"I just love all the pretty colors!" little Leia squealed in delight, hugging a stuffed tauntaun toy to her chest. It reminded Allana of her own, the one her father had given her when she was just a little girl. Allana had named it after the man who had given it to her. Jacen.

"That's a fun, little tauntaun toy you got there," she smiled, pointing at the purple toy.

"Papa got it for me. His name is Jacen."

Allana's gaze swung to her aunt and Jaina just smiled back. "Well," Jaina said to her mother. "I'm so glad I found someone else who shares my love for Accenio and My New World. There aren't enough people who know great art like you do."

The girl gasped, looking to Jaina for a second before returning to studying the painting before them. "Don't you just love all the new colors Accenio makes? And I know what it means. The painting. I wish every world was like that and not just Alderaan. Can we talk about it together?" Leia beamed up at Jaina, causing the daughter to beam back. "Maybe later, okay?" Then, she turned and left for the Chance with Allana. "Soon."


	5. Last Thoughts

She wasn't okay. She wasn't okay and that was enough to put him into a heart attack. She wasn't okay and Bail didn't know how he could possibly help his daughter. When he looked up to his wife who stood beside hi desk, they shared a look of grief and a tint of guilt. Guilt? Oh, yes. As much as they wished, as long as they had been pretending for the last nineteen years, Leia was not really theirs. She was Padme's, Anakin's. An heir of the Force, not a princess in line for the Alderaanian throne. And when Bail had taken her in, asked Obi-Wan and Yoda if he could take that precious baby girl home, he'd committed himself to a very important responsibility. He was to care for a little girl who would one day be the hope of the galaxy. No pressure.

However, Bail had quickly fallen in love with the girl as her father. He'd come to feel like the title 'adopted' was not appropriate, it didn't correctly explain their relationship as father and daughter. Leia was his daughter, and he her father. She was his only daughter, his only child, and he had raised her as though she were really were. Because that was how he loved her. Like she was his. And it had been his and Breha's responsibility to care for her and keep her safe until she was to go out into the galaxy and keep them safe.

Bail left his advisers to walk outside of the palace with Breha. He took her arm into his and, quietly, they walked out in front of the palace, their gazes going up to the brilliant night sky. Stars glittered the black canvas, but in their midst hung a gigantic, imposing, gray ball with a crater in its top half. Vader's Death Star. Bail shuddered. He looked down to his wife, squeezed her hand gently. "She's going to be okay," he smiled sadly. "She has left, facing far less danger than we do."

Breha looked up to him, sharing that kind of sad, tortured smile. She squeezed his hand back and responded, "It's okay, Bail. She's tough. She can handle herself."

"You can see right through me, can't you?" He chuckled softly.

She laughed back, folding herself into her husband's side, forcing her eyes to look away from it. Instead, she kept her eyes on her planet to which she'd remained loyal since her marriage to Bail Organa. "Perhaps. You know, B, I worry too, but she's never been a proper Alderan princess. I hate to admit it, but she is her parents' daughter."

"Yes," Bail agreed, looking out onto Aldera City in all its shining splendor, enjoying the view for as long as it would last. "Gladly so. This galaxy needs her. It needs her to change them like she changed us."

A heavy silence hung in the air then and the two watched out upon their beautiful home until Breha realized she had one more thing she needed to say before the day was over. "Bail, thank you for bringing her home. I loved her. She was a joy."

"I loved her too," Bail said, forcing his eyes to remain on his city even as a heat began to warm his skin until a flash so quick took him away. And they died, dreaming of all the things their daughter would do to make things right, to avenge this day, this dreadful moment. But, they . . . couldn't be prouder.


	6. Leia's Angels

A/N: An alternate situation where Anakin died on Mustafar while everything else happened the same way it did in the movies and Emperor Palpatine took over the galaxy by himself. And Padme still died. Sorry.

"You're still going to talk to me when I do go, though, right?" the little girl asked innocently, still playing with her toy stuffed pittin in her hands.

The woman laughed whole-heartedly, swiping the girl's loose bangs past her ears. "I don'y know yet, Leia. I hope so. We'll certainly try to."

"Good, because I like it when you guys talk to me. Sometimes, Daddy hears me talking at night."

"He can?" the woman asked cautiously.

"Yeah, but I don't think he can hear you guys. He asked me who I was talking to and I told him I always talk to my angels every night."

"You know what, Princess?" the man smiled, reaching over to tickled her with his Force presence. She giggled, crawling across her bed to the woman. "You are our angel."

Leia smiled up at the man, reached out to touch his ghostly cheek and said, "Thanks, Anakin."


	7. I Know-1

It was rather an odd place to have one's ashes scattered or to even request such, but Jaina understood. As their daughter, she had spent her whole life watching her parents, how in love they were, how they had always cared so deeply for one another's needs. Jaina Solo smiled at the thought of all those loving memories, at all the joyous moments her parents had shared together. She swore to keep those memories alive as she opened her mother's urn and poured the contents into her father's. She closed her father's again and shook the combined ashes, mixed them and poured them along the wall of the maintenance bay.

Then, with a small pocket knife, she scratched words into the wall above the ashes. _I love you. I know._


	8. Big Brother, Little Sister

In a blur of flying tissue paper and cards, Anakin opened his last gift and ran back to his uncle to thank him. Leia grabbed the gift and put it with the rest of his presents while Han began cleaning the mess. When Anakin went back to his spot in the living room, Leia asked him, "So, Anakin? Did you get everything you wanted for your Life Day?"

Anakin's prior joy and exuberance suddenly vanished as he shook his head and sat down beside her.

"You didn't?"

"No."

"What didn't you get that you wanted?"

"I wanted a sister."

Leia laughed, pulling her son into her lap and kissing his cheek. "Anakin! You already have a sister, silly!"

"I know, but I want a little sister so I can be a really good big brother like Jacen always is to me."

"Hm. Well, Daddy and I will have to talk about that. Han, what do you think about Anakin having a little sister?"

Stuffing the last of the wrapping paper into a garbage bag, Han laughed wholeheartedly at his wife and came to kiss her temple. "I don't know about that, Anakin. I think you're always going to be the youngest in our family."

Anakin started to give a little frown, but Leia shook her head and assured her son, "You know what, Anakin? I have to agree. I think that sounds really great. Maybe I can convince Daddy we should get you a little sister."

"You will!" Anakin perked up at this and Leia beamed at him, nodding. "I think he might not have a choice." She looked to her husband who was growing more worried by the second. He shook his head and mouthed her name.

'Leia. Don't get his hopes up. Can we please talk first?'

Leia shook her head back and told Anakin as she combed her fingers through his hair. "Guess what, Anakin."

"What?"

"You're going to have a little sister."


	9. Reunion

No money, no home, no family, no Leia. Life wasn't fair and Bail hated it. It had been sixteen years now since his and Breha's beloved daughter had left home to help make a difference for the rebellion. Sixteen years since the somber guards had come to report the destruction and death of the _Tantive IV_ 's crew and captain, of Leia. Sixteen years since he'd shaken his head, tears rushing down his cheeks, and he took his wife's hand, racing for their private freighter, refusing to believe it. Sixteen years since they'd left in search for her to be survivors of the planet they'd never meant to abandon. Sixteen years since they'd given up and allowed to be transported to Delaya, the only refuge for the remaining Alderaanians.

At his side sat Breha. When he looked to her, she offered a weak smile, squeezing his hand for comfort. He squeezed back, turning his gaze out the viewport as the ship landed, rocking a bit before it settled. An audible sigh of relief was released from all the other passengers as well and they waited in tired anticipation for the captain to come back. In typical Corellian swagger, he strode into the back cabin and waved to them. "Alright," he said. "We made it. Now, let's all proceed in an orderly fashion, if you don't mind. There are people outside who will show you to your new homes. And a line for food. We'll be sure to get to everybody. Thank you for your patience."

The couple got up from their seats and waddled out with everyone else, only slightly eager to be given a home that won't really ever feel like home. Once they made it off the freighter's landing ramp, they were handed a pair of new clothes and pointed to a lunch line. The food was much better than Bail had imagined they would be given and he and Breha hurried to one of the tables set up in the barren field to eat. Around them, the other refugees conversed lightly, unalarmed by the Queen and Viceroy around as they were all on the same level now, all refugees, all poor having lost something. The two ate in silence until they heard children's laughter nearby. A few children came running to their table, two boys and a girl. The girl stopped before Bail and said to him, "Sir, I and my brothers were playing and we lost our parents. Have you seen our mom?"

Bail faltered a moment before he could respond. The girl, small in stature, had big, round, brown eyes just like his own Lelila and the more he thought about it, the more apparent all their other facial similarities became. It hurt. So, Bail shook away the memories and told her, "I'm sorry, dear. I wish I knew who your parents are, but I don't."

The little girl giggled at this and told him, "I'm sure you do. All the Alderaanians do. You don't know the princess?"

"The princess?" Breha repeated.

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Prince-"

"Jaya!" a voice suddenly cut through the conversation and the three siblings spun around to see a woman running to them. Bail couldn't catch a glimpse of her face, she had her face buried in her children's hair as soon as they were in her arms. "Jasa. Anakin, what did I tell you three about running around? I need to be able to see you."

Bail and Breha met the woman to make sure the kids were leaving in safe hands and Bail said to her, "I take it you're these kids' mother?"

"Yes, thank you." She rose to her feet, swiping her hair past her ear as she continued, "I'm really sorry. I-" she stopped, now looking Bail in the eyes. "Daddy?"


	10. A Little Piece of Home

It was just a rock. Gray, hard and rough-surfaced and sparkling with minerals in some places, it was. Yes, it was just a rock. Or so it may have seemed. Or so Leia may have wished. It was just a rock, so she tried to convince herself, but staring at it was like watching a holodrama in slow motion. Memories young and old were revived and played in Leia's head over and over until she thought she could take it no more. It was a rock, that much was true, but there was more to it and Jaina and Jacen had known that.

As special as the rock was to her, just the mere fact that her own children had gotten it for her doubled the value she held it at. Had her twin children asked her if they could venture into such a dangerous asteroid field, she immediately would have started ranting out a list of every reason why they shouldn't- and wouldn't- and how dangerous it was and, most likely, even borrowed See-Threepio to assure them of all the horrible odds. Then, she would have kissed both on their foreheads and sent them off for bed. But the two had purposefully gone behind her back to find her the greatest gift they thought they could give her. Not to mention that they faced all those dangers Leia probably would have warned them about before. And that was what made this particular rock special to her, that her own kids had gone to so much trouble for a rock they knew meant something to their mother. The twins could have gotten it from Mustafar and Leia would still have had it proudly displayed on the wall of her bedroom.

Her fingertips automatically went to her eyes where she felt salty wetness already dripping from them, down her cheeks. Hurriedly, she wiped them off on her sleeve and took a calming breath, sniffled, attempting to calm herself, but Leia couldn't figure out what it was that she had done to deserve such wonderful children. She closed her eyes, smiling at the holodrama of memories for a long moment until something quickly wrapped itself around her waist and she gasped aloud. "Hey, Princess," his hot breath whispered against her ear, like a light wind gently blowing through her hair.

"Flyboy," she acknowledged her husband and turned in his arms to stand on her toes and kiss him.

"Are you having a good birthday?"

Leia managed a nod, bringing her arms up to wrap around his neck, staring into his hazel eyes. "Yes. Of course. Today's been wonderful. By the way, if I didn't say so before, I really love the necklace you got me." Leia brought a hand to her chest and played with the necklace's charm, an Alderaanian flower, between her fingers. "It's beautiful."

"Well," Han held the charm in his own palm and looked at the jeweled aralute for a second. His eyes found their way back to hers and he smiled, tickling her neck with kisses until he got to her jawline, at which point he skipped the rest to meet her mouth with his. "I thought I'd get a beautiful jewelry piece for my even more so beautiful wife. I'm glad you like it. I wanted today to be special for you. You know this has to be the first time you've had work off for your birthday."

"I had my birthday off during our second year of being married."

"Yeah," Han chuckled. "Except, you were pregnant and the twins were just about ready to come."

Leia laughed, resting her head on his shoulder and fell into a rhythmic sway, their arms wrapped around each other. "Yeah. Only a couple days later I got the greatest birthday gift of all."

"Speaking of our wonderful children and birthday gifts, what did they get you?"

Leia pushed back from Han so she could look up at Han, smiling euphorically. "You didn't see?"

"No. I missed it while I was ordering dinner. Your favorite."

"Mmm. I can already smell the gorba melts. Now, you have to see what they got me. Han, I don't know what Winter did to them while they were with her, but I think we might have the wrong kids."

Han stopped, planted his fists on his hips and asked, "Did Jacen chase a rock lizard down and give it to you?"

Shaking her head and quirking a brow, Leia picked up the rock from the dresser to show Han. "Our wonderful children got me this."

"Sweetheart," Han eyed the rock with a skeptic eye and hesitantly accepted it when Leia held it out to him. "I love our kids too, but I thought we were over with telling them that their preschool finger paintings were better than Killik Twilight."

"No, Han," she swallowed over a lump in her throat, beaming in pride. "It's from the Alderaan's graveyard. Jaina and Jacen literally got me a piece of Alderaan." She shook his clasped hands around the rock to emphasize her own words and stared at Han, waiting for his reaction.

"Wow," Han remarked when he had finally found words, unfolding his hands' tight hold on the piece of Alderaan. "So, we're not punishing them for going without permission?"

Leia was either ignoring the question or oblivious to it being asked as she swept the artifact from Han's hands to look at it again for herself, telling her husband, "It feels weird, actually holding a piece of my home planet in my hands, seeing it up close. It makes me wonder what part exactly this was from. Was this small, little piece once a part of Crevasse City or Aldera? Or was it the tip of one of the mountains I always used to dream of climbing?" A dark shadow crossed her features as her gaze turned to the floor and she quietly muttered another possibility. "Or the only remnant I have left of the palace?" Turning back to Han with more tears pooling in her soft eyes, she continued and Han listened intently. "I miss it all, Han. The palace, the art, my old friends. I love you and the kids and everything I've gained since I met you and Luke, but . . . I miss home."

From his pitiful expression, Leia could tell how awful he felt, how he wished he could sweep away all her torments with a brush of his hand, but, thinking about it from a different angle, he couldn't imagine not meeting her if she'd never left her home either. It was something that Leia was currently trying to wrap her mind around too, but it was one of those moments when she wished more than anything that she could run into Bail Organa's arms and just cry. If only this all could be some kind of nasty dream and she'd wake up in her old room in the palace and Breha would be shaking her awake, asking her why she was crying, assuring her that everything was fine. But, again, Han wasn't there.

Whether it was the words she'd left unsaid or all the things she shouldn't have told the Organas, Leia couldn't push back the rush of regret washing over her. If it wasn't her wishes of it all being a long nightmare, it was the feeling of regret that came swiftly to make her wounds bleed afresh. And that was almost worse, in Leia's mind. But Han stayed, offering her comfort, facing the pain with her as he muttered any words or phrases of comfort that came to mind. "Hey, relax, Princess. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best choice in terms of endearment just then, but-"

"Han," Leia interrupted him, raising a slim finger to Han's lips to silence him. "No. It's okay. When I do start thinking about Alderaan, I can't ever stop running my last days with my family over and over, thinking about all the things I wish I'd told Mama and Papa. I wish I'd told them I loved them more than anything and given them my biggest hugs." Leia gave a short laugh and told him what else she was thinking. "I wish I'd told my aunts I appreciated all the advice they'd ever given me. They made growing up a horrible burden, but I know they only meant to help me. I wish I'd stuffed myself full with as many of Memily's treats as I could manage, said bye to my Fess Ilee, sown Madame Vesta I really did pay attention to all of her lessons, hugged Sabé." She shuddered in his arms and Han instantly buoyed her back up.

"To be honest," Han started, stroking Leia's head in comfort. "I wish I'd gotten to meet them too. Your parents, I mean. Whenever you talk about them, it makes me wish I'd grown up with parents like that."

"Han-"

"No, listen. I would have liked to meet them before we married. I think it would have been nice for the kids to have grandparents."

"Wow. Way to make me feel less depressed," joked Leia as the two sat down together on their bed. "But I get what you mean. For me, I guess it would have been nice to have parents who could have helped me out when I fell in love with you, when we married, had the kids. I think it would have been a memorable first meeting between you and my parents."

Grinning mischievously and pulling her closer to himself, Han asked her, "Do you think your father would have approved of me?"

"I think my father wouldn't have liked you around me, but he eventually would have to admit he liked you for me. My father always knew a good man when he saw one. He would have liked how protective you can get over me, how much you care about me. Breha would have been really thrilled that I found you. SHe would have really liked you, probably had to talk to Bail for some time to show him how great you are. They both would have liked you a lot." She put out a finger, a smirk crossing her lips and started again, "Now, as for my aunts . . ." Just thinking about it, her eyes went wide in alarm and she let loose a long snort.

Han reached out and pulled Leia down onto the bed with him. "I think they could have learned to deal with it."

Laughing, Leia fell into his grasp and pulled him around so his body was leaning over her smaller one. "I'm sorry you miss them so much," Han apologized. "If I'd grown up that lucky, I would miss it, too. If I ever lost you. Or the twins or Anakin . . . I would miss you guys."

Leia grabbed Han by the collar of his shirt and pulled his mouth to hers, tears once again filling her eyes. "I don't even want to think about it. Han, never leave me. Please. Stay with me, help me. You, Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, Luke. You're all I have left. I don't want to think about losing a second Alderaan. Han, I don't think I could make it through this time."

"Don't worry," Han held Leia's head in his hand, lowering his mouth to meet hers. "I don't plan on it." But before their lips could really meet, Leia suddenly pushed him back, murmuring, "Jaina's coming." Han jumped off the bed just in time to see his only daughter striding towards the doorway. She knocked and approached Leia. The mother took her daughter in for a hug as she asked, "Mom, are you mad at me and Jace? We really wanted to get you something special-"

"It's okay, Jaina. And it is special. Very." Leia pushed her back to arm's length and told her, "I love it. It might just be one of the greatest gifts I've ever gotten." She planted a soft kiss on Jaina's forehead. "Thank you, sweetie."

"You're welcome. And happy birthday, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Jaya. Now, come one. Why don't you help me set the table for dinner? It shouldn't be long before someone arrives with our food. Then, we'll get out the cake and call Uncle Luke."


	11. A Queen's Handmaidens

**A/N:** In which Sabé knows . . .

Kneeling before the bench, she allowed herself to do something she so seldom did. She wept. Openly and freely, Sabé cried in mourning, in loss, in profound grief so great that only few really understood. Pain stabbed at her heart and the wound it left bled freely. Sabé doubled over in pain, her tears dripping onto the bench before her. She took a handful of the fresh flower petals and sprinkled them over the bench, picking up a bottle of oils and spilling that over the petals. "My queen," she cried, scattering more petals and spilling more oil and incense. "My queen, I hope I served you faithfully. I tried. I did all I could, Padmé."

Padmé. Padmé had died. How it was even possible, Sabé didn't understand. She hardly even remembered being told, only that she'd denied it, been shown the body and fell to her knees, overcome with racking sobs. Obi-Wan had told her, she tried remembering the details and recovered this memory. She'd been at the Naberries' house, sitting at the kitchen table with Padmé's sister Sola, her husband Darred and their two girls Pooja and Ryoo. Ruwee, Padmé's father, had also been sitting with them. Jobal, Padmé's mother, had been in the kitchen when Obi-Wan had come. He'd asked if Jobal was there and Ruwee called her out. Yes, now it all rushed back to Sabé, every fine detail.

"I'm afraid," Obi-Wan had started, ruffling Pooja's hair as she ran into the kitchen, laughing, Ryoo right behind her. "I've come with some awful news. This isn't easy, but I must tell you."

"Well," Jobal had smiled gently at him, offering him a chair and passing him a bowl. "Relax, now, Master. You needn't worry. We're all friends here."

"Jobal, you don't understand. This news is about Padmé. There . . . there was an attack on the Jedi Temple. Padmé was visiting with Senators Organa and Bibble when Palpatine sent clone troopers to attack. It was a massacre. They were killing all the Jedi. I'm afraid that . . . in the mess . . . Padmé was killed."

Their minds had run over the simple sentence. They'd denied it by skipping around it by focusing on the other details. "Are Senators Organa and Bibble okay? Did they escape?"

"Yes, yes, Darred. They did. But, again, Padmé didn't survive."

And then it struck on them like lightning.

She knew the others had given up. Rabé, Eirtaé, Saché, Yané and Fé had all given up, moved back to their respective homes elsewhere on Naboo, abandoning their handmaiden titles. They would try to forget her, Sabé knew, as they had tried encouraging her to do, but Padmé had been her closest friend and was not someone Sabé simply could so easily forget. She hadn't been sure what she ought to do now, but she knew she couldn't just move on. So soon, so fast, it would only hurt later. She considered staying on Naboo to help the Naberries, but Breha had called her, asked her if she wanted a job working for the Organa House on Alderaan and caring for a girl they'd adopted.

"I heard about Padmé's death," the queen had told her, settling a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how awful this must be for you."

She'd accepted the job, packed her things and left Naboo quickly in the rush of things as chaos ensued and Palpatine declared himself Emperor on all the HoloNet channels. She'd said her goodbyes to Jobal, Ruwee and Sola and had arrived just after Bail had. Breha had, after a long private discussion with her husband, shown Sabé to her new room and gone back to Bail and the new baby.

Now, here she was, kneeling before a bench, crying her sorrows out by herself. The Alderaanian viceroy had just returned and Sabé waited patiently to be called back in and given her new jurisdictions. When her comm finally rang, she jumped from her spot and hurried to meet the queen and viceroy. She found them in the living room, just the two of them, worry painted in their expressions, shown in the creases in their brows. "Queen Organa," Sabé announced her entrance, politely standing just behind the entry way. "You called me here."

"Yes, Sabé," Breha smiled, motioning her to come in. "Thank you. Bail and I just thought we'd discuss the details of your new job here. We've adopted a child and we would like for you to act as a mentor when she's older. Plus, your services as a babysitter would also be appreciated. Our cook Memily has the time to watch over her, but hen she doesn't . . ."

"Of course, my Queen."

"Would you like to see her?"

"Of course." Bail held a small child in his arms, a tiny baby with dark hair and eyes and, as much as she wanted to soak in her own self-pity, Sabé couldn't help but smile at the baby girl. And, for a moment, she idly wondered whether Padmé's child had been a girl or boy, but she quickly threw aside the idea to admire the precious girl in Bail's arms. He handed the girl to her and Sabé smiled at the child, rocked her gently when she started to cry. She put a finger to the child's hand and her fingers slowly wrapped themselves tight around Sabé's own finger. "How old is she?" Sabé asked. "She looks like she's just a newborn."

"She is. And her name is Leia. Leia Organa now that we've adopted her."

"She's beautiful."

"Isn't she?"

Well, a few years came to pass when the little girl had more of her own personality and Sabé couldn't help but love the girl so. whenever she was around Leia, an odd feeling always tickled at the back of her mind, but she never thought much of it. Until, she really looked at Leia.

"Sabby!" she heard a shrill scream from down the hall and quickly spun around to see little Leia dashing towards her, her arms held out to catch Sabé in a hug. "Leia!" She caught the girl in her arms and swung her around, carefully dropping her back on her feet. "Remember not to run in the palace. Now, what's all the screaming for?"

Leia outed her lips, crossed her arms and told her frankly, "It's Fess again. He won't leave me alone."

Sabé cast a long look down the hall to Leia's bedroom and sighed. The poor girl had a stalker who followed her any and everywhere, but her parents seemed not to care or bother about the man much. "Still?"

"He's sitting on the bench outside and, sometimes, he looks at me."

"Well, I'm sorry, Lelila. Why don't we head to the gym downstairs where he can't look at you." Sabé took the small girl into her arms and carried her downstairs, grabbing a basket of Memily's treats from the kitchen on the way. Then, she sat Leia down beside her and the two had a feast of muffins and breads with Memily's delicious spreads.

Leia, four years old and fiercer than any politician Sabé had ever met, carefully unwrapped a muffin's wrapper, scowling as her dark brown curls of hair continuously fell in front of her eyes. Impatiently, she blew them out of the way and growled when they fell back. With a laugh, Sabé reached over and pulled her hair back to begin braiding it. "Thank you, Sabé," Leia said.

"You're welcome, sweetie." In all honesty, the older woman held a certain fascination for the little girl's hair. Dark, curly and soft, it reminded the once-handmaiden of her own queen's hair. It reminded her of simpler, better times when she and the queen's other handmaidens, all of them close as sisters, would sit in a circle surrounding their queen and do her hair, makeup, help her dress. Sabé's fingers stopped their work in Leia's hair as the memories inevitably tarted to play.

She remembered first meeting Padmé, meeting the new Nabooan queen at her family's home in Theed with Sio Bibble. The young teenager had been standing in the living room as her older sister did her hair. Embarrassed, her cheeks had flushed. "Sola! It's fine. Thank you. Now, please stop."

Sola laughed, giving her sister's hair one last touch before she let her go. "She has Mama's hair," she told Sabé and Bibble. "Long, curly and hardly tamable."

And then, Sabé was sitting with Padmé in her own living quarters as the funny feeling Leia always gave her started to tickle her mind again. This second scene had been only several months before Padmé's death and the two had been talking about . . . simpler times. "I wish we could be little girls again," Padmé said with a smile. I wish things could be that simple again. I wish we could be here talking as little girls about our families when we're older, not about the war, right now."

Sabé had laughed at her friend, taking the comment as a joke and plunging to say in a higher voice, "My daughter will be named Maré."

Padmé had smiled at that, but kind of frozen as though she was taking the question seriously. "What about Leia?" she asked. "Isn't that pretty?"

Breaking out of the reverie, Sabé noticed with a start that the tickling feeling in her mind was gone. And that tears were now leaking down her face, spilling onto Leia's hair. Leia.

"Sabé?" the child asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Leia. I'm fine. Leia. Leia." And Sabé finished her work, hugging the child. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a very pretty name?"


	12. Healing

**A/N:** A small missing moment that takes place seconds following NJO: Balance Point by Kathy Tyers.

It was a sickening view, a sickening feeling, a sickening guilt and it was driving Han insane. His head had been swimming with panic since they'd gotten Leia on board the Falcon, but stuck here, forced to watch her health deteriorate . . . not only did Han feel helpless, but he now had time to think and all he could think about was how awful he felt.

Taking advantage of Leia's unconscious state, Han stuck an IV in her arm and sat at her bedside. He couldn't bear to even snatch a glimpse of his wife's bloody legs, the blood staining her outfit, soaking the bandages Jacen and Jaina had put on her. He pulled a blanket over her body up to her shoulders and tucked her in like she was just sleeping. Maybe he could convince himself she was. But the guilt was just about too much in itself and Han had never felt so miserable.

As he reached out a hand to stroke his wife's hair, a voice seemed to yell at him, an inner demon pointing out every mistake of his from the past year. Since the death of his greatest friend, Han had blamed his own son, pushed away his family, finally left his wife when, really, she was exactly what he had needed most this whole time. He had spent his time off gallivanting across the galaxy with a ryn named Droma, looking for that missing piece that had left him feeling so empty only to find that it was the crucial piece he had just left. Why had Han let it come to this? Why had it taken him accidentally running into her to face his own self and deal with his mistakes? He wished he could fix it, but it was far too late for that and Leia was dying because of it.

 _No,_ Han cried to the voice as it hung over his head, reminding him of all the pain he'd caused Leia _. No, this isn't fair. She doesn't deserve it. She doesn't deserve to suffer for all I've done since Chewie died. None of this is fair. Please, he kissed her temple and rested his head on top of hers, letting the tears fall now. Please, if I can, I'll take her place. Please just stop. She doesn't deserve this. Please . . ._

Leia started to stir, her head turning slightly as a moan escaped her chapped lips. She began whimpering, trying to open her eyes, but the lights were in her eyes and she quickly turned away. "Hey," Han soothed, trying to comfort her. "Hey, relax, Princess. Just rest. You need it." He smoothed back her hair and ran his thumb up and down her forehead.

"Han," she mumbled.

"Hi, there, sweetheart. Just relax. We're headed for Corellia, okay? We're going to get you to a med-center as soon as we can. I promise. Everything's going to be fine."

Opening weary eyes, Leia looked at him. She managed a weak smile, and, slowly with effort, snuck out a hand from under the blanket to reach for his. "You don't need to reassure me. Unless that was for yourself, in which case I won't judge. I promise."

Han took her hand and kissed it softly, holding it between both of his hands and gently squeezed it. Her skin so smooth, he couldn't resist from kissing it once more. "I was just thinking-"

"And we both know that's never good."

"Ha. Ha. But, I'm serious, Leia. I was thinking and . . . and I wish I could trade places with you, right now."

"Mm. But I don't."

"Why not?"

"I'd never wish any of this on you."

"Are we talking about your "talk" with Nom Anor or all the ways I've made you suffer since-"

Leia interrupted him with a little shrug and answered, "Maybe both. Han, just listen to me. I'm not mad at you."

"Well, that's a little backwards because I am. At myself."

"Han, can't we just forget? We're together again and I could wish for nothing more." She closed her eyes and Han had gave her hand a squeeze to be sure she hadn't passed out again. With as much pressure she could, Leia squeezed back, a small smile playing her lips. "I love you," she said when she opened her eyes.

Tears stinging his, Han responded, "I know."

"And that's all I need to hear," she assured him with a brighter smile as their daughter came in, followed by several medics. "Say it again."

"I know."

"Again, flyboy." The medics lifted her onto a hovergurney and carried her out.

"I know."

As they passed, Leia took her daughter's hand and asked of her, "Tell your father I can't hear him."

Jaina smiled. "Again, Dad!"

Han called out louder, "I know!"


	13. Never Face It Alone

**A/N:** How a certain scene from Dark Journey should have gone. When you lose all hope, it only makes sense to turn to what's left.

Desperate for even just small talk, Leia peered around the Trickster and asked her daughter, "So, how does this thing work?"

A brightness took over Jaina's face as the subject turned and she prepared to launch into a ten-minute rant on how differently the Vong ship worked and how frustrating it was to work on their repairs, but stopped short when her gaze met her mother's. A shadow suddenly crossed Jaina's face and tears spilled down her cheeks, unbound.

"Mom?"

"I thought I was 'Mother'?"

Her tears free-flowing now, Jaina shook her head and begged her, "Mom?"

Leia walked back to her daughter, lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Jaina," she said softly. "I'm listening, baby girl."

"Sometimes, I need you more than I admit."

Leia first responded with a soft smile before taking her daughter into her arms and stroking her back. She hushed her daughter until Jaina's cries calmed and she gently pushed back to look her mother in the eyes. "I love you, Mom. Please help me. I need help. I want to give up and let the darkness take over. Mom, I need help."

"I know, sweetie. So do I."

They hugged again and Jaina, in her most vulnerable voice, muttered, "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Jaya. Always and forever. Daddy and I are always here."

"Mom?"

"Yes, Jaya?"

"Thank you."


	14. Baby Girl

"I want a girl," Leia answered, tracing a long stretch mark with her index finger. "And I know you want one, too. Honestly, I'll be grateful for anything I get, but, if I had a choice, I'd want a girl."

"I'm just trying to figure out why," Han said, holding his wife's bulbous stomach between both hands. Stroking the baby bump with his thumbs, he leaned forward and kissed several of the stretch marks. "I completely agree. Boy, girl. Son, daughter. It doesn't matter, but I'd love to have a little girl, another little princess."

Leia smiled, bringing a hand around her stomach to rest atop her belly and stroked her thumb there, over and over. "Even if we don't have a girl, I think we should try again for one."

"Getting ahead of yourself, aren't you?" Han laughed. "Where is the baby resting?"

Leia gently patted the bottom of her belly, just above her pant line, and continued, "I've always wanted a girl. A part of me thinks it's because I want to have a best friend, like me and Breha always were. Another part of me thinks I want to have a girl so I can, in my mind, "fix" my childhood."

Han kissed the spot Leia had patted and stopped, his hazel eyes studying her. He turned down her chin so she was looking back at him and he asked her, "How do you mean? I thought you loved Alderaan and Bail and Bre-"

"I did. Don't get me wrong, Han. I still love them. I wish they were here. But, sometimes, I try to imagine what it would have been like had I been raised by my biological mother; someone I don't even know. I guess I don't want our child to go through that. I mean, obviously, but it's almost like I want to recreate the exact scenario so I can stop it from happening. I want to have a daughter that I can love and hold and spoil." She turned her glance back to her stomach, back to rubbing it. "That we can love together. that can change our lives and things can be better than what I had with my biological parents. I had nothing with them, Han. Nothing with this father Luke loves so much. Nothing with this mother I don't even know. And I don't want our baby to have nothing with us."

Han's gaze softened and he sat up straighter beside his wife and cuddled her in his arms. "Leia," he spoke softly, assuredly. "That's not going to happen to any child of ours. Our baby," he gave Leia's stomach one more long stroke. "This baby isn't going to have nothing with us. It's going to have everything with us. And things will be so much better than what you had. We'll have our baby girl and maybe a boy, too. Soon enough, we'll have the greatest family we could give each other and you won't have to think this way anymore. Leia, this is our family and things are different now. We're going to make it."

Smiling, Leia kissed her husband and eased herself out of the chair. Bringing another hand to support her back, she pulled her shirt down and glanced towards her brother's office. "What do you say we go find out if we're getting that girl?"

"I would love to, ."


	15. A Shoulder To Cry On

**A/N:** This piece is dedicated to my good friend morgandisney1313 who just read Mara's death for the first time. Sorry, morgan and r.i.p., Mara Jade Skywalker.

Impatiently, a sister waited in the cockpit, her hands working feverishly across the controls, sniffling away tears as she helped set down the Falcon on rainy Shedu Maad. The sharp pain of loss continued to stab at her, but she tried to ignore it, tried to keep herself calm to better help her brother. When the ship landed, she hurried down the boarding ramp and dashed to meet Luke just outside the Jedi base. She threw herself into his arms and gave him her fiercest hug, not saying a word, only offering him comfort in this physical way. She's lost people before, too. Lots of people. And from years of experience of losing people, she knew better than to tell him sow sorry she was, knew better than to tell him to forget the pain and focus on the brighter side. Besides there being no 'brighter side', Leia knew how foolish and stupid a thing it was to say. She knew that, when one was grieving, physical reassurance could do so much more whereas a verbal comment of sorrow could often only make it worse. So, she didn't say anything, just cried with her brother and held him close.

"You're here," Luke muttered, burying his head in his sister's long hair. "You're really here."

"Shh," she cried. "You don't need to say anything."

"Y-you felt it, didn't you. You had to have. You were her best friend. You were her sister. You felt it just like I did."

"I did." Leia agreed.

Luke gently pushed his sister back and, through tear-stained eyes, held her gaze, his broken heart showing in his blue eyes' depths. It caught Leia off guard. She'd never seen him so broken before, never seen him cry in defeat, in loss, in life. But here he was, broken as an old holo and so alone. He and Mara had been married for quite a bit less longer than Leia and Han, having married when Jaina and Jacen were nearly teens. They'd struggled through so much together in such a short time, though. It had felt like Mara's illness had lasted ages and Leia had always feared her sister in-law dying before the two could even have a single child, but Mara always had been a fighter, a trooper, a kind of warrior even Leia had to admire. And when Mara had made it long enough, when she had fought the disease back and given Leia her first and only nephew, Mara had become even stronger in an all new sense. With Ben, a softness to Mara had been found and had challenged, but strengthened, the Skywalker couple until they were as indestructible as Han and Leia. Life had seemed so little to them until pain and loss and suffering stroked again.

Whoever had done this, Leia thought. Whoever had decided to do this to her family. Whatever monster had done this to her brother, she promised herself, was going to pay . . .


	16. Reunion Part 2

**A/N:** All thanks due to jb_twd_spn for requesting a part 2 to Reunion! Also, I learned how to do the scene separation thing! Yayyyy! Bye-bye stupid, annoying O's!

"Mama!" she faintly heard Jaina yelling in her ear, tugging on her skirt. "Mom! Are you okay, Mom? Mom!" But she couldn't find the strength to get sound to come from her mouth. Yes, her mouth was moving, but nothing came out. Anakin wriggled out of her hold until he was standing on the ground. He stood behind his mother with Jaina and Jacen and told them, "I think something's wrong with Mom."

"Shush, Anakin!" Jacen lightly slapped his younger brother's arm. "That's mean to say."

And for what seemed to be hours, Leia stared at Bail and Breha until the latter bit her lip and her shoulders sagged, a hand going to her mouth. "Lelila," Bail muttered, a hand reaching out to caress her cheek. "Lelila, is it really you? Is that really you, my dear?"

Leia could only manage a small nod, tears filling her eyes. "It's me," she finally, she collapsed and fell into their embrace, sobbing, shoulders shaking. "It's me, Daddy. It's me. Your Lelila."

"Uh-oh," little Anakin gasped as he watched the scene. "Mommy's crying still. That's not good."

Leia slowly pulled out of the hug to smile down at her youngest child and shake her head, scooping him up into her arms. "No, baby. Mommy's fine. I'm only crying because I'm so happy. Does that make sense?"

The little boy turned his bright blue-eyed gaze to the two dark-skinned adults and shook his head, resting it against his mother's shoulder.

"This is my mommy and daddy," she explained while Bail and Breha could only stare at the children now, completely blown away by it all so fast. "They're your guys' grandparents."

"Oh, Leia!" Breha cried as she hugged her daughter again. "Look at you! So many years later, all grown up with your own little ones!" She laughed, more tears coming to her eyes and, with Bail, she kneeled before the other two children.

"Hi, sir," the girl waved, clinging to her mother's side. "I've heard about you before. Mommy likes telling us lots of stories about you and Alderaan. I think she's really missed you."

Bail smiled up at his daughter, taking her into his arms once again and saying, "I've missed her, too."

"How, how are you alive?" Breha managed in her state of shock, taking hold of Leia's arms and shaking them. "We heard the Tantive IV was boarded by Imperials and all the crew killed. We left Alderaan right away, looking for you. We gave up a while ago. Leia, we thought you were dead!"

"Mama, I thought you and Daddy were both dead! I watched it happen. They forced me to! I was on the Death Star and Tarkin made me watch as Alderaan was destroyed. I've thought you both dead this whole time."

There was another long moment of silence while the parents and daughter could only stare, their feelings a mess of emotion at his joyous reunion. When Leia could finally find her words again, she said to them, "I can't believe you're both here. I found you. I've gone too long without you both and you've missed so much."

Breha and Bail both turned their gazes to the children and they wiped away tears, nodding in agreement. "We're here now," Bail cried, kissing his daughter and holding her close. "We're here now and I wouldn't miss any of this for the world. I love you, Lelila, and I'm glad you're okay."

Slowly, he pushed away and gazed at his grandchildren, the two boys and the girl who looked so much like his Lelila. "And look at you," he chuckled, saying to Leia. "You're all grown up with little ones of your own. I'm proud, Lelila. You always make me so proud."


	17. Rebels and Imperials

**A/N:** A missing moment in which Leia becomes the mother she always should have been! JAINA/JAG SHIPPERS BEWARE!

Jaina Solo despised the silence in which she sat. She'd much rather be surrounded by chaos, her mind far too cluttered to think straight or even dwell on the events that had just taken place. But, it was quiet and that didn't help Jaina with her issue. It was quiet and she could think and no happy thoughts were coming.

As hard as she tried to block the memories, Jaina recalled with stunning clarity what had happened earlier between her and her fiancé Jag. She had learned that he was a shoulder she couldn't afford to cry on, a sky that would fall when she needed to fly, an antagonist when she was her own enemy. It was supposed to be a week until their wedding when Jaina had caught the call.

It was almost funny, really. It was as though the galaxy was back to the good old days, like it was a cycle. Things were black and white again and the Imperials were once again the bad guys, no second thought needed. And that's what had ended her relationship with Jagged Fel.

Born and raised in Imperial space as an Imperial pilot by Imperials, it was clear whose side he represented. Then, there was Jaina, born to and raised by Rebels, flew for Rebel pilots, never really trusted Imperials bucket-heads. But the two had thought that, for them, somewhere in the middle existed a real love where their roots and backgrounds didn't matter, where they could be their parents' children without bothering. But they'd been wrong.

Her fiancé of just two more weeks had quickly and noticeably become forceful to their post-wedding plans. Their home in particular. Jagged had been quick to suggest moving to his home planet of Csilla near his family and that his wife-to-be become an Imperial citizen as well. Jaina had gone along with it until she'd realized what he was really asking.

 _"But I'll be gone often for duties at the academies and temple."_

 _"Why would you leave so often?"_

 _"Well, what do you expect me to do? I have to help my uncle out. I'm a Master now!"_

Then, Jaina had seen the look in Jagged's eyes and understood.

* * *

Inevitable, she decided as an old smile returned to her lips, one she'd long thought dead. It was inevitable, these tears she shed in memory of a childhood she'd risked all to give her daughter. Though it hadn't been quite a normal childhood by any standards, Leia had managed to keep her daughter safe, away from harm thus far. Her baby girl was still alive, still sane, still . . . still.

With a somewhat relieved sigh, Leia took a step to turn away from the rack of holos, froze in her tracks, turned back. Her eyes found their way back to a three-year-old Jaina's face, big brown eyes wide in excitement, her mouth in a grin even wider. She sat on her knees in the beach's golden sand, Leia right behind her, a hand on her daughter's shoulder. It had been a rare occasion when Leia had managed to free herself of her work to spend the weekend with her children and Leia held the simple memory dear in her heart.

There was a rap at the door and Leia jumped in response, startled even by the soft knock and her daughter's presence standing outside the door. "Jaina," she said her daughter's name as she opened the door, a bit surprised that her daughter would care to pay a visit. But what surprised her more was the younger woman's slumped shoulders, her sad eyes, the general way in which she carried herself like the world was weighing too heavily on her shoulders. She looked up into Leia's gaze and said in a soft voice, so soft Leia couldn't be sure it was really her daughter speaking. "You weren't always there when I was younger."

A sharp pang hit Leia as she slowly nodded, already on the verge of tears.

"But you're here now," Jaina continued and Leia vigorously nodded to assure her.

"I need you now."

"Jaya," Leia began, using her childhood nickname. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"You were right. Like you always are. And I've finally learned to listen to you."

"Jaina, honey, why don't you come in?"

Jaina entered her parents' apartment and followed Leia into the living room. Leia sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to her, motioning Jaina to join her. Jaina sat beside her, let her head fall into her mother's lap as she lied down.

"What's wrong, Jaya?" the mother asked, rubbing her daughter's back like she sued to when Jaina so much younger. "What's happened? Please tell me, honey. Mommy's listening. You can tell me anything."

There were sniffles and hiccups for an answer before, in a cracked, broken voice, Jaina answered, "You and Dad were right about Jag. Like you always are. And I didn't listen."

Something instantly broke in Leia's heart and she knew this wasn't going to be good. Her and Han had never approved of Jaina's Imperial pilot boyfriend, but there was little they could do convince their daughter of such. She was her own woman now, out in the world, making her own decisions. Leia wasn't sure she could protect her daughter from these kinds of hurts anymore. "What did he do, Jaina?"

"Things are back to being simple like they used to be."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You don't have to wonder anymore of you can trust the Imperials."

Leia had to refrain from laughing, quickly swallowed it down and continued listening.

"Jagged's reached a high sense of power, I don't see him often. When I do, he expects me to be on board with this whole idea of moving to Csilla and becoming an Imperial citizen and . . . leaving the only family that I have. The Order, Uncle Luke, Ben, Allana. . . . You and Dad."

"You really love us that much that you want to stick around?" Leia smirked.

"Yes. I should have known better, should have known something like that wouldn't work. Now, I feel stupid."

"You aren't stupid."

"Well, I feel like it."

"Does it hurt?"

"Only when I breathe. Maybe this whole love thing isn't for me."

"Yes, it is. It's for everyone. Yours will come along when it's ready. You just have to be patient."

Jaina nestled closer to her mother and Leia wrapped her arms around her daughter, silently willing all the younger woman's torments away. "You deserve so much better, Jaya. Daddy and I love you so much, we're keeping an eye out for the right one for you. Don't you worry."

Jaina gave a little chuckle. "Have you found any decent candidates?"

Leia considered and nodded, thinking of one who had yet to admit to loving Jaina, even though Han and Leia already knew. This man was one Leia knew appreciated and loved the Trickster goddess. "One, yeah. I think he understands what you've been through and would be happy to help you out of the dark. Again."

 **A/N:** Please tell me I wrote that well enough that I don't need to clarify who this guy is. If you do need clarification, remember my username . . .


	18. Goodbye Hug

**A/N:** Inspired by a picture from Wookieepedia. Just look up Bail and Leia images on Google. You'll know which one it is after reading this.

"Do you have your personal bags? Clothes, holos, jewel-"

"I got it, Father. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely?"

"Positive?"

"As positive as I can be."

"You won't need to come back for anything?"

"Only a hug."

Bail Organa stopped, took a moment to really look at his daughter. Nineteen and fierce as all, Leia was his very pride and joy. There was nothing he treasured more.

He knew this mission to be dangerous say they were to run into any trouble, but Bail rest assured knowing he was sending the right person for the job. Besides her fine skill and bravery being perfect for this simple delivery, it was bringing her well on her way to meet her destiny. She would meet Master Kenobi and, likely, she wouldn't be his for much longer.

"Leia."

"Yes, Father?"

"If you need anything, just comm me, okay?"

"Okay," Leia smiled and nodded, trying to hurry off.

"Leia."

She sighed. "Yes?"

"I love you, Lelila."

"I love you too, Daddy." she responded back, trying to hurry off, but Bail couldn't let her leave so early without a goodbye hug.


	19. Always There

**A/N:** In which I fix all pf COPL in a single one-shot!

There would be nasty words in the morning, she knew it without a doubt. She'd wake up and walk down the corridor to hear them all muttering things about her, staring at her. All of them. But Leia wouldn't care.

Written in his eyes, Leia saw hope and too much of it. He had hope because he knew he had her backed up in a corner. She could either give in or take the knife to her heart. But, Leia was sure, he wasn't expecting her to do what she always would. Seizing the metaphorical knife, Leia stabbed herself and told him, "I'm sorry, Isolder, but I can't."

Prince Isolder of the Hapes Consortium gave a nervous glance to the audience around them and cracked a smile. "Why not, Princess?"

"Because. I'm already committed to someone."

This being a prince, Leia had expected, at the most, a flash of alarm before his shock was composed, but when the shock hit it didn't go away. His eyes wide and fearful, he showed her the ring in his hands and asked again, "Princess Leia, I am asking you to marry me."

She looked in his eyes again and saw hope, hope that she would say 'yes', but Leia was never one to tell anything short of the truth. And she couldn't hurt Han by even pretending she was considering it. "As I am aware, but I just told you. I can't. I'm already in a committed relationship. I apologize, Isolder, for the embarrassment, but my hand is taken."

With that, Leia hurried off from the dais and down the crowded hall as holojournalists flocked her, chasing her, yelling questions and accusations as she fled. At the end of the hall was an open door where stood Rieekan, Luke, Chewie and Han. Rieekan flicked his hand, motioned for her to hurry and Leia broke into a run, the crowd at her heels. She hurried through the door and Luke slammed it shut before any of the crowd could enter. And there before her Han was.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, his jaw hanging from his mouth, his eyes swimming with disbelief.

"Do what?"

"Deny Isolder's proposal. Why did you do that?"

"I love you," she answered, simply, shortly. Her big brown eyes staring up into his, hands slowly reaching for his waist, she waited for a response.

After a long moment, Han nodded, taking her into his grasp, pulling her body to his. "I know," he said with a smile. A smile came to Leia's lips as well and she quickly rose to her toes to kiss him. Han accepted the invitation, but broke the union when a thought occurred to him. "We should probably get out of here."

"Probably."

* * *

Sitting in the cockpit, in Han's lap to be more accurate, Leia rested her eyes, mentally preparing herself to watch HoloNet that night. But safe in Han's arms, she didn't fear much, not even the reports soon due and all the nasty insults she was sure to suffer. He would fend them off, protect her like he always did and everything would be okay. Something about this particular situation did make Leia feel odd, though. She had refused a proposal in defending her own relationship with Han. Somehow, refusing another proposal put some kind of deeper commitment behind her and Han's relationship, though they'd never really had an actual status to them and it scared Leia what that might do to them. Nothing about their relationship was official. They'd never dated, never courted. All they knew was that they loved each other and that had always seemed to be enough. What about now?

Han took her hand from where it hung by his calf and intertwined their fingers, his other hand stroking hers. He planted a kiss on her cheek and told her, "I love you."

Leia smiled. "I know."

"And I think we have a lot to talk about."

Oh, no. Had Han been thinking the same as her? Had he decided that this was where he drew the line and now it was all over. Leia silently panicked and she felt her face flush and her hands start to shake.

"Commitment seems to be the big word lately."

"It does, doesn't it?"

"You told Isolder you're committed to me."

"Of course I am."

"Than, why don't we make it official?"

A smile lit up her face and she was pretty sure she knew what he meant, but she had to be positive. "Han Solo, are you asking me to . . ."

"Marry me? Yes. I mean, you just turned down a proposal, it seems only right I take my turn at asking now."

Leia's smile turned into a smirk and she pushed a bit away from Han and gazed up at the ceiling. "Hm. Well, let me think about. I do kind of like you, I guess. But sometimes you can be a little . . . cocky?"

"Stop it, Princess," Han shook his head, pulling Leia's body back to his. "You aren't fooling anyone. I love you."

"I know. Yes, I'll marry you, Han."


	20. Proud

Once Masters Horn and Sebatyne had finished pulling the robe over her shoulders, Leia looked up into her brother's eyes. He smiled at her, dropping the hood over her head. "I'm proud of you, little sis," he told her.

"I know," she was quick to beam back. "I'm your little sister. You should always be proud of me."


	21. Lonely

**A/N:** Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I've decided to give you all a gift! A Valentine's Day one-shot!

"Lonely?"

"Aren't I always?"

"Way to sting yourself."

"Well, if it's true."

"Hey, what about Jagged?"

"You're kidding me, right? We both know Jag gets to be about as romantic as hutts and my dad wouldn't let me see him today, anyway. He told me he's not going to let me waste my Sweethearts' day like that."

"Sounds only fair. I guess I don't really have anyone I was thinking of spending it with."

"Sure you weren't, Kyp. You just happened to walk into me on Sweethearts' Day. That's why you're here, asking me about how lonely I am on such an occasion."

"Well. You caught me. I guess I was hoping I could change it, Goddess."

"I might be happy to let you, but I'd like to know your intentions first, Master."

"Well, it would start with some nice, long, pointless conversation-"

"Check."

"Probably some pointed insults at ourselves."

"Check."

"And then I'd suddenly lean in and kiss you like this."


	22. A Glimpse Onto the Future

Inspired from a scene of Paradise Snare when Han is coming to Alderaan and watches a video of Bail Organa, with a young Leia sitting on his lap, welcoming coming freighters.

* * *

Han had to admit he was really liking Alderaan. Although this was supposed to be a brief visit before he headed off again. He just needed to get those spices off his hands so he had a clean ship! This visit to Alderaan was just a . . . a break. And a long deserved one, Han thought.

Around him were pleasant sounds of laughter and joy, children running around the city park, their parents seated on the grassy ground, talking, joking. Not a worry, not a care. What a good life it must have been.

A particularly shrill screech caught Han's attention and his gaze swung to see a small girl running his way. Brown hair flying past her like a flag, she careened around his legs and circled back to stop at his side, standing there to catch her breath. "You have to catch me, Daddy!" she yelled and Han looked in the direction she was looking to see an older man and woman slowly making their way over. "You have to slow down," the man laughed. "Lelila, we're getting too old to keep up with you!"

The little girl at his side laughed. She looked up at him and erupted into inexpiable giggles.

"I'm sorry about her," the woman apologized, taking the girl's hand. "I'm afraid she's becoming a bit too quick for us." She flashed a comical frown at her daughter and the adorable girl laughed again.

"She's alright," Han insisted with a shake of his head. "There's nothing wrong with playing."

"Thank you," the girl said. "And sorry for running into you. I didn't mean to."

"That's alright-" Han looked at her again and realized, feeling a bit clumsy and awkward, that he recognized her from the video transmitted to ships approaching Alderaanian space. There had been the Alderaanian viceroy in the video with a young girl on his knee. This girl. The princess. "That's alright, Princess."

* * *

Panting and sweating profusely, Leia clamped down on his hand tighter, her moans turning into growls with each new contraction. Han stayed right at her side, squeezing back, kissing her temple, and repeating phrases of comfort and encouragement. "Please tell me," she panted. "That . . . the Healer . . . is going to be . . . here . . . soon."

Han nodded and promised her, "Soon."

Another contraction ripped through Leia's body and she held back a scream, her fingernails biting into the skin on Han's hand. As the pain eased, Leia looked at him and apologized, I'm sorry."

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry about. That's alright, Princess."


	23. Meeting the Captain

A missing scene from my fanfiction novel _An Alderaanian Story_. Takes place between chapters 28 and 29. Bail gets to meet his daughter's boyfriend!

* * *

It was the swift aroma of lemon-scented cleaning products that jerked Han back to wakefulness. When he opened his eyes, he had no idea where he is. He understood that it was a med-ward he was in, but had no clue as to what planet or what med-center. The last thing he remembered was being at Jabba's palace. Yes, the palace, the ceiling panel . . . Leia. He'd thrown himself on top of Leia, covering her body with his. To protect her. Because that was all he'd meant to do in the first place. Now, he had to wonder, was she okay? Had she made it out safely? Was she hurt? Han was hurt. Very hurt. Every muscle ached and his whole body felt like it was bruised. His back, especially. Because the panel had fallen on his back. Han sighed, looking around the room while he wondered.

Soon enough, a lady came in and smiled at him, seeing that he was awake. "Memily?"

"Captain Solo, welcome to the land of the living."

He tried to sit up, but groaned with the effort and settled back down. Memily made her way over and lifted the bed's back so Han found himself sitting upright. "Just relax, lie back. You took quite a hit the other day."

"Yeah, I'm feeling it."

"I'm impressed. No major injuries. I already slipped you through bacta while you were unconscious and your major injuries have healed very well."

"What major injuries?"

"Oh, not much, actually. However, you did have little bits of the panel stuck in your back. I gave you stitches for a couple of them."

"Thanks. Hey, can I ask you a couple things?"

"You're on Alderaan again," Memily immediately answered his unspoken question, taking notes on a clipboard. "In the royal palace's med-wing, to be exact. Viceroy Organa hasn't yet ordered your arrest, but he asked me to notify him as soon as you wake up. I think he'd like to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" Han swore under his breath. He was dead.

"I'm sorry. I already sent a notification to his comm. He's on his way."

When Leia's father entered his med-room, Han wasn't too intimidated. Like Leia had always explained him, Bail Organa looked to be the exact person that he was. Calm, collected, warm, friendly, compassionate. The only thing about him that Han feared for himself was the father's compassion for his own daughter. Han held the Alderaanian's gaze while he slowly came to take a seat. Their gazes remained locked for a long moment.

"So," Bail finally spoke first. "You're the man who's been sneaking into the palace through my daughter's window, yes?"

Han nodded. "Yes."

"And you've been going on "dates" with my daughter, yes?"

" . . . Yes, sir."

Bail looked away, nodding, probably thinking to himself. When he looked back to Han, he said, "I've heard a lot about you this last week. A lot. I'm not quite sure what to think, Captain Solo, but let me remind you that you've hardly given me a single reason to let you off the hook."

"Yes, I understand, Your Highness."

"Are you sure you do?"

Han continued to hold his gaze while he told the viceroy, "I knew I was going to end up in prison, but I had unfinished business. I'm sorry that it put her in danger."

Bail nodded, not saying a word. Han's heart skipped a beat while a new thought occurred to him and he had to ask Bail, "Is she okay?"

"Yes," Bail nodded, rising and turning away. He paced the length of the room and stopped. When he turned back to Han, he was crying. "Yes, she's just fine. Completely unharmed. Thanks to you. You realize that you saved her life? Leia, small and skinny and hardly weighs half as much as you? That panel would have crushed her. You saved her from getting hit."

"Maybe."

"You did," Bail said again, his voice almost harsh in manner. He sighed. "Look, as of right now, I don't really like you. However, if it weren't for you, my daughter would be severely injured. Or dead. And, apparently, you're a decent guy. Those are the only reasons I'm giving you a chance."

"You're giving me a chance?"

"A significantly small one, but, yes. Now, I am going to give you a full minute to run your mouth, say whatever you think, whatever comes to mind, and then I'll judge you. Ready? Go."

For a moment, Han didn't say anything. He considered what to say, but there was little he wanted to say. He was only filled with questions and worry. For Leia. "Was Leia injured at all?"

Bail stared at him like he was confused. He seemed to be taking Han in, surveying him, trying to figure him out. It reminded Han of how a child might stand before the cage of an animal's exhibit's newest addition, learning, trying to figure out what it was and what it did. "Why did you come here?" he settled to ask instead, leaving Ha's question unanswered. "What interest do you have in Leia?"

"Is Leia okay?"

"Why did you stay so long? Why are you trying to protect her?"

"Because I love her. I came here to escape my bounty and I met Leia. I fell in love with her and that's why I stayed. That's why I tried to protect her. That's the reason for every decision I've made since I fell in love with her. I stayed because I loved her. I left because I loved her. I put myself in harm's way for her because I . . . " Han suddenly stopped, realizing that he wasn't saying the right words. he started over again. "I risked my life for her because I care about her. And it's been a long time since I've cared about anything."

"Why do you love her? If you expect me to allow any kind of relationship between you and my daughter . . . Listen, Solo. I'm going to tell you a story and I want you to understand ow much I care for her. Then, I can listen to you. And maybe we'll understand each other better.

"My wife and I always wanted to have a girl of our own. We tried for years, but doctors told us there was no point. It crushed us both and we were about to give up hope . . . and then Leia came into our lives. I knew her mother very well; she was a close friend of mine. She died in childbirth, orphaning Leia and I eagerly agreed to adopt her. She's the only daughter I have. I love her like my own. If I have to give her away, I want to know that I'm at least giving her to someone who loves her as much as I do; someone who is willing to die for her."

Like you, Han read the unspoken comment straight out of the father's mind. He'd gone out to face his past crimes, expecting to die . . . for Leia. Everything for Leia.

"What's your story?" Bail asked.

"I had no life before I came here and met her. I had no purpose, no goal, no aim. I did things for money. That's all that I ever did. I flew around in a junky spaceship with a wookiee for a best friend and pretended that I didn't want to care about anything. I pretended that I was satisfied with my empty life . . . but I wasn't. Then, my nothing, empty life brought me here. And I met her. And everything changed. I didn't want to admit that I'd fallen for her because it was new and scary and I was scared of how much it would hurt once reality woke me up. But, every day, she made me feel better and better about everything; about my life, my purpose. She gave me all those things. She filled my hear, made me whole. We learned together. We grew together. And I knew what my purpose was, then. I'd live for her. I'd die for her. Whatever she needed. I would answer to that need."

"If you have love for her like you claim, what do you love about her? What makes her beautiful? What makes her strong? What quirks and habits do you love?"

"Every one of them."


	24. Gaining Daddy's Approval

Second and last missing moment for my fanfic novel _An Alderaanian Love Story_.

* * *

"Good morning, Captain Solo," the Alderaanian viceroy greeted Han upon entrance into his med-room. He came carrying a tray of breakfast food; hotcakes, nerf sausages, and a glass of elba water.

Han nodded back, acknowledging him with a quick, "Sir."

Bail pulled out a tray over Han's bed and set the food tray down on it. "Breakfast is served," he said.

"Thank you, sir." Han took his fork and cut off a piece of one of the hotcakes, dipping it into his syrup and eating it. He smiled wanly. "Sorry to say it, but nothing beats Corellian hotcakes. No one does it like home."

Bail shrugged in agreement. "Then, perhaps, you would enjoy something more native to Alderaan? Maybe, tomorrow. Oro bark, perhaps?"

"Sounds mighty fine."

Bail watched him for a moment and Han tried his best not to feel creeped out or worried. When Bail spoke again, he asked, "I'm glad we had our conversation yesterday. I think we both took away some things from that. Now, I thought on it all of last night and I came back here to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"I would like for you to give me a reason why I shouldn't arrest you."

Han set down his fork, chewed on a sausage link and started to think about every charge the viceroy could pit against him. Breaking into the royal palace, stalking, bringing, however small, illegal substances and weapons on planet. So the list went. Han looked back up to Leia's father and shrugged. "I honestly can't."

"You're not even going to try?"

"I could sit here and confess to all my crimes if that's what you would like."

"No, I didn't ask or reasons why I should arrest you. I asked for reasons why I shouldn't. So, are you going to think up one or not?"

"I already told you, sir. I can't."

"Hm. Well, that sure is funny considering I can come up with a few."

"That sounds a little backwards, don't you think?"

"Perhaps. Let's see. Well, for one, Leia believes you're dead and she's overwhelmingly distraught over it."

Han quickly looked up at the mention of her, his heart pounding with fear.

"You risked your life to save hers. You've made her happier than I've ever seen her. You've been listening to her this whole time while haven't. There, I gave a few. Do you have anything to add."

"I left because I'm not good for her," Han argued, no longer able to hold Bail's gaze. "I left because I care about her and I didn't want her to get hurt because of something I did-"

"And yet another reason. Splendid, Solo-"

"Why are you doing this?" Han asked, his anger rising as he looked back up to Bail. "Why are you keeping me here? Why are you helping me? Why don't you just throw me back to where I belong already-"

"I'm afraid that you don't understand where you truly belong, Han. See, you think that you're wrong for Leia. You admit to every mistake you've made in her presence and out. You tell me every reason why you've protected her and I tell you every reason you shouldn't go. I think you belong elsewhere. I think you belong closer to my daughter. Now, believe me, these are no easy words for a father to say, but how long can I keep up this lie to myself? I care about Leia which means that I care about you. You make my daughter happy. You keep her safe. Therefore, I can't come up with an equivalent reason as to why I should keep you away from her.

"She thinks you're dead and she's falling into depression over it. She misses you and she needs you to buoy her back up. So, let me ask again, Solo. Why shouldn't I arrest you?"

Once again, Han looked away, realizing that Bail's care and concern and love for Leia ran deeper than he thought. He loved and cared for Leia so much . . . he was willing to disregard Han's crimes to let them be together. As that realization sunk in, Han realized something else about Bail. Or, something Bail did. "You fired the blaster shot," he said, not asked.

Bail smiled, pleased. "Yes. Of course, I did. Who else would have?"

"You fired the shot to create a distraction . . . to get me out."

"Maybe we did just meet, but I've learned a lot about you in not a lot of time. All I know is that you make my daughter happy. And I can't watch her stay depressed like this. Han, I want you to stay with Leia."


	25. A Corellian Lullaby

Another mommy one-shot. Like Leia, Han was scared to know his full story, too . . .

* * *

She was nearly too young to be the children's mother. Just a month shy of turning twenty-two, hardly anyone suspected her of being the mother to the six year-old boy and the two year-old girl. Sure, she was young, but she'd lived life this way long enough to gain some responsibility. She knew this way of life too well to know how to get herself out of it. So, here she was, her world spinning and she was pulling her children into it, too.

Jaina Solo sighed, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. She looked up and smiled softly at her son and daughter. They sat together in the closet, the boy holding his sister close. "You're going to be a brave boy, right?" she asked him, crawling over to sit with them. She pulled them both into her lap and kissed her boy's head before ruffling his dark hair. "Promise me you'll be a big, brave boy, okay? Mommy needs you to be really strong." Her son looked up to her with his beautiful hazel eyes. Sure, he got them from his father, but Jaina loved them far more on her little boy than on her boyfriend. Her young son, Han, nodded, burying his head into her chest. Jaina held him close, rocking the three of them.

The peaceful moment ended when the screams returned. Jaina remembered them from the last time her boyfriend's employers had gotten upset with Jonash. It seemed too often now that they were angry with him. Jonash had always assured her that the kids were safe at home, that the pirate whom he worked for, Garris Shrike, would never bother to stop by a poor Corellian town just to harp on a worker. But, like he so often was, Jonash had been wrong. And yet, he didn't care.

Jaina would have left him years ago, but she had no place to run to and Jonash made enough money to keep one of the kids dressed and fed. Jaina worked for the other child. So, she'd put up with him for all the children's lives. She'd tolerated his abusiveness this far, but she didn't know what to do now. What if the other pirates came further into the house? What if they found her children here, hiding in a small closet of the children's bedroom? Jaina sobbed silently into Han's hair, trying to remain calm for his and Allcyan's sake.

"Jaina!" came Jonash's screams, urging her out of her hiding place. "Kriff, Jaina, just get out here and bring the blasted kids!"

Jaina shook her head, holding tighter on to Han and Allcyan. "No," she whimpered.

"Jaina!"

"Not today," she cried quietly to no one. " _Pleeease_ not today! The kids . . . they're too young. They deserve so much better than this."

"Jaina!"

"I'm sorry."

"Jaina!" Jonash burst in with Shrike and grabbed her by her black hair. She yelped, dropping the kids. Jaina thrashed in his arms, doing her best to defend her children, but she was weak, defenseless and Jonash and Shrike were so much stronger than her. She watched as the Corellian pirate snatched her children. She heard their screams of protest and she screamed back, still thrashing in Jonash's grip.

"Mommy!" Han screamed, trying to hit at Garris while he carried him off. Another pirate came and took the girl from Shrike to deal with her. _**"NO!"**_ Jaina let loose a blood-curdling scream, thrashing harder and swinging her elbows at Jonash. "My babies! Leave them alone! They're useless! They're small and weak and they're just kids!"

Garris smiled at her, wrapping a hand over Han's mouth. "And kids can are precious and innocent . . . which makes them the perfect asset for a band of pirates, huh?"

Han bit the man's hand and yelled again, "Mommy!"

 _ **"HAN!"**_

Garris slapped the boy's mouth and hurried out, the man holding Allcyan following.

 _ **"HAN! CYAN!"**_ She sobbed and screamed and thrashed until she could no longer hear her children's calls. Jonash let her drop to the floor and she fell into a heap at his feet, pure, raw, untamed hatred teeming in her big brown eyes. _**"You let them take my kids!"**_ She bounced onto her feet and drove Jonash to a wall, her nails scraping along his skin. Her teeth gritted, she said in an awful, tortured voice, _**"You let them take my babies!"**_ She kept him there until Jonash regained control, dragging her to their room and holding her hostage. He locked the door behind him and cuffed her hands together to the bed's rails on the headboard. _**"You gave them my babies! How dare you!"**_

"Relax, Jaina. They're just fine now."


	26. Looking For You

Another mama one-shot. Leia deserved to have a reaction to finding out about Padmé, too.

* * *

Leia could still remember all those years ago when she didn't want to know anymore. Knowing who her father was had been hard enough. She was scared of how much worse it could get. So, when Luke had suddenly expressed an untamed interest to find out who their mother had been . . . Leia recalled all the hurtful words she'd screamed, the harsh pitch to which she'd raised her voice, the furious level her anger had reached. She'd made it clear to her brother that he was not to involve her family in his craziness. He was not to involve _her_ children in it. He was not to involve _her_ in it.

But, now, here she was. After Luke had shown the holo to her, she'd watched it. Once. Twice. Three times. She'd lost count of how many times she'd replayed and watched the holo. All she did know was that her heart somehow felt more whole. A piece of the puzzle had been found and it excited her, thrilled her.

But, before the excitement, there was an odd pain that hit her. How she could be so overcome with grief over a mother she never knew, Leia couldn't understand. Here she sat, mourning over this woman whom she'd never met, never acknowledged as a mother. Or, maybe, that was how she could mourn. She'd never even known her biological mother. The thought struck her heart and she uttered another sob, bringing up a hand to wipe at her eyes. Just then, Leia felt something touch her shoulder and she craned her head to look at her daughter. "You okay?" Jaina asked.

Leia managed a nod.

"Are you ready to go in? The guard's about to come back."

Leia nodded again, rising to her feet with Jaina. Sure enough, just as she said, one of the guards on shift came back to the small office and gestured them forward. "Mistress Solo, you may come in, now, if you're ready."

"Thank you."

The guard led the two women down a pathway from the office. They followed the deep purple-painted pathway to a rather small mausoleum. Though it was small, it was obvious it was an important one. Painted in different shades of dark and pastel purples, it was decorated for an honorable queen. When the guard approached with Leia and Jaina, the guards surrounding the entrance stepped aside and allowed for the other guard to unlock the entrance door. It opened with a long, low groan and the guard stopped just inside the door, waiting for the women to follow. Slowly, Leia took the steps to enter and Jaina maintained pace with her, letting her mother have the time. She finally entered and the guard shut the door, lit a lamp, and bowed before a gray, rectangular, stone sarcophagus. "Herein lies our beloved queen and senator, Her Highness Padmé Amidala. May she rest in peace." Then, he stood and turned back to Leia and Jaina. "Would you like the time alone, Mistress Solo?"

"Yes, please," Leia managed on a dry throat, wrapping her arms around herself. When he left, Leia shuddered, her gaze turning to the sarcophagus. "Well. We're here now."

"Are you sure you're okay? We can do this another time if you ne-"

"No," Leia shook her head. "No, I'm okay. I want to do this now." She wiped more tears away. "I need to do this now."

Jaina nodded, peering around the small room. She cast a long look at the sarcophagus before stepping back towards the door. "I feel like you have a lot to say and I'm intruding."

"No, Jaina-"

"And that's perfectly okay. I'll leave you two to talk for a while."

Jaina left, shutting the door behind her. Maybe, she was right about Leia needing this moment alone. As soon as she was gone, Leia suddenly found the words she'd been looking all day for. She turned to the sarcophagus, brushing a hand along its length while she turned her gaze up to the stain glass image of her mother at the head of the sarcophagus. She gave another sob before she began. "I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe _you're_ here. When Luke was trying to find you . . . I was really scared. I was scared that, after learning about Father . . . I was scared that the story was going to get worse. But it doesn't. I'm really glad it doesn't." She moved both hands to rest on the edge of the coffin, her tears spilling onto the stone casket that held her mother.

"Even after I forgave Father . . . I was terrified to get to know you. I was so terrified. But you're not who I thought you would be. You're someone I can be proud of. . . . You're someone I am proud of. Sabé used to tell me stories about working for you. I always thought that was just her way of dealing with grief, but now I suspect she always knew I was your daughter. The terms still sound weird to me. Father. Mother. Daughter. The only father and mother I've ever truly known were Bail and Breha. But I've come to forgive and, somehow, I feel like we're still connected. I want to be connected to you. I wish we could be.

"I wish I could have known you. I wish I'd had you when I was growing up. I wish you could have been a true mother to me. Sometimes, I think that I've been trying to make up for it with my kids and now just Jaina and Jacen; like I'm giving them the childhood and the family that I never had. I don't mean that I didn't like Bail and Breha. I loved them. I still love them. They were everything I had and they raised me like I was their own. But, like Luke wishes he could have grown up with Father there . . . I wish I could have grown up with you there. When I was little, still growing. When I met Han and we got married. When we started our own family. Now. I wish you'd been my mother."

Leia bent over the casket and wept over the stone, her fingers running over the carved Naboo emblem while she imagined what her mother looked like when they'd dressed her for burial and brought her lifeless body here. She'd seen holos and documentaries of the funeral procession. She'd even visited the site before coming here, but part of her thought she might look different in life.

 _Child,_ a light and airy voice seemed to whisper aloud. Leia jumped, startled. Hands still on her mother's coffin, she looked around wildly for anyone else in the mausoleum. But there was no one else. _Child . . . I have always been here . . ._


	27. A Mother's Love

Another mommy one-shot. You know whose past is never really talked about?

* * *

There was a dirty village on the planet of Sapella in the Outer Rim. It wasn't too shady, just mostly dirty and poor. It was a dark place overcome with darker shadows of nothing lives. Every day was a scare, a challenge to continue on, each inhabitant hoping they'd survive long enough to find a way off. It was always cold and windy and it didn't rain often, but thunder and lightning were a nightly event.

There was a young woman, just barely a woman, who lived in a small shanty house in that dirty village. Her place was only a room, just big enough to fit her and her daughter. There wasn't much space for anything. All that the room held was a crib for her child. At night, she would always sleep on the floor beside her daughter. The young woman's name was Moira.

She hurried into her room while lightning struck around the village, illuminating the sky with every burst. Moira reached into her child's crib and picked up her baby, cuddling her to her shoulder. "Good morning, darling. How are you? Did you sleep well? I hope you did." With one hand, she caressed her baby girl's head, twirling those red curls around her fingers one last time. Moira held her child in front of her and the girl's eyes slowly opened, revealing glittering jade eyes. Moira smiled, kissing her daughter's cheek. "I love you, Mars. I love you so much and I really hope you know that. I really do. Guess what? A man just came here, to Sapella, and he's going to take you to Coruscant! Doesn't that sound amazing? I've always wanted to go to Coruscant. Well, he's going to take you to Coruscant and, there, you won't have to hide anymore. You won't have to hide your powers." Moira pulled the crib's sheets back nicely. Without her hands. "You won't have to live in fear like I do. You'll be safe and away from all the danger. And then you'll grow up happy and you'll meet a wonderful man who loves you as much as I do and he'll take care of you. He'll love you with your powers, just like I do. Doesn't that all sound so wonderful, Mara Jade? Huh? Don't you like that sound of that, baby girl?"

"Where's the child?!"

Moira gasped at the sharp bark and spun around to see the old, dark man's guard as they entered her home. She looked at Mara in her arms with sad eyes and nodded. "This is her."

"Are there any more?! Do you have any more that are Force-strong, too?"

Gulping, Moira shook her head. "She's my only child."

The man lifted his hood to reveal pale, wrinkly, and sunken features. He reached his arms out and nodded to Moira. "Come on, girl. Just hand me the baby."

Slowly, Moira gave him her baby. "She'll be safe?" she asked again. The man nodded, taking the child and grinning at her. "Oh, yes, my dear. You have nothing to fear. She will be quite safe with me. Yes. Now, you said her name is Mara, yes?"

"Mara Jade."

"Alright." The man's guard stepped closer to Moira with his lightning weapon and pointed its tip to her neck. "My Emperor, what about her?"

"She's young," he answered before shaking his head. "But too old to be trained now. Kill her."

And Moira was dead within seconds. The old, dark, wrinkly man stepped over her body and carried the child out of the room, muttering to her, "I hope you're ready to go home, _Mara Jade_."


	28. Quirks and All

Han Solo considered himself a very lucky man. He had more than he'd ever dreamed of having including a nice home, loyal friends . . . and a beautiful wife. Yes, she was the most beautiful person Han had ever laid eyes on. Especially now, Han didn't think she could be any more beautiful. Of course, Leia didn't believe him when he told her that. She thought he was trying to make her feel better, but he really meant it. He meant it more than he ever had. Even with the nine and a half month baby bump she was currently sporting and the swollen feet and the aching breasts, she was gorgeous. Han wondered if it was the fact that she was carrying his child that made her even more irresistible, but he knew he loved her either way. But it truly was amazing. Every morning when Han woke up next to her in bed and he put his hands on her belly and kissed it, he marveled at the fact that they were going to be parents, that they, together, had created life and it wouldn't be long before they got to meet that new life.

Leia was not one to feel insecure about herself. She never had, but, perhaps, it had been the rush of new hormones flooding her system that had caught her off-guard and lowered her shields and fogged her brain because Han thought no less of her now that she was pregnant, but she seemed . . . wary of her own image.

Now having suffered every symptom of pregnancy that there was, Leia was feasting ferociously on a super-sized meal of Alderaanian stew from a restaurant. Though it was a bit pricier than the menu's other items, Han had happily ordered it for her just to make her happy. In addition to the stew, Han had ordered for her, as requested, a piece of spiceloaf and smoked nerf. Her fingers covered with grease and the nerf's thick, spicy sauce, she hungrily finished the steak. Swallowing the last bite, she wiped her fingers on her bread roll and ate it. Han chuckled.

"What?" Leia asked, licking her lip and wiping her hands on her napkin.

Han just shook his head.

"No. Tell me why you just laughed. Were you laughing at me?"

"Sweetheart," he reached over across the table to take her napkin from her hands and wipe at the corners of her mouth and cheeks. "I'm not really laughing at you. I was just laughing because I thought you looked very cute eating like a gamorrean."

Leia frowned, taking back the napkin and folding it over to wipe her fingers. "Eating like a gamorrean is not cute."

"It is when _you_ eat like a gamorrean."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. It was that and I think it's cute when you wipe your sauce off on a roll and eat it."

"Han-"

"Princes, I'm not making fun of you."

Leia sighed, sitting back and putting her hands on her stomach, caressing her belly.

"Leia," Han said her name in a low voice, leaning towards her. "Listen to me. I'm not making fun of you. I genuinely thought that it looked adorable. I love you, quirks and all, Princess."

Leia turned her gaze up to look at him. "Quirks and all?"

"Quirks and all," Han nodded, laying one hand over Leia's and leaning down to kiss her stomach. "Stretch marks and all, swollen feet and all, pregnancy habits and all. I love you, sweetheart. You are still the most gorgeous woman ever and I love you with all my heart."

Leia's lips turned up in a smile and she stretched her neck to kiss Han. "You better love me as much, Solo. I'm carrying your child."

"I know and I love you even more just for that."


	29. Carry Me Home

Leia's initial shock had slowly faded as the day had died down. Ben's cries had washed out the sound of her own sniffling and she'd found a source of comfort in her own husband. Once they'd gotten Ben to fall asleep and laid him down, Leia had nestled into Han, without a word. Surprised, Han had smiled faintly down at her, moving his arms to wrap around her. They'd stayed like that, snuggled in each other's arms, for a while. Leia had no idea how long, just that it helped to numb the pain and she didn't want to leave Han's side.

She was sure she had been crying, too, but none if that mattered. She was lost in her thoughts, lost to the world. Han was the only thing she was conscious of. Her thoughts refused to turn away from her lost son, her dear, precious, baby boy. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't forget it, couldn't shake her thoughts from what it had felt like to feel him so suddenly ripped from her, ripped from life. Everything had been fine. She'd been discussing something (she couldn't even remember what) with Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya when, out of nowhere . . .

Leia had felt a persistent pain in her side, a lingering pain that refused to leave. She remembered touching her hand to the spot, wondering what it was exactly that she was feeling. Then, just like that, he was gone. She'd gasped, realizing what she'd just felt. For a nanosecond, Anakin had been blazing in the Force like a brilliant, furious, burning flame then, abruptly extinguished. Gone. Dead. No longer. She'd made no more noise for a moment. Faintly, she had heard Chief Fey'lya asking if she was alright and what was going on. Leia had hardly even perceived the words. Everything else was lost to her. Finally, the full impact hit her and she screamed, howled, sobbing as she begged the Force for it not to be true. Memories came like a flood and, with stunning, evil clarity, she could recall every time she'd ever had to part with him, her baby. Her youngest. Her precious.

She'd pounded on the floor, screaming as loud as she could, screeching and letting loose every awful noise she could make. She remembered Han rushing in, hurrying to her side and trying to figure out what had happened. And all that she'd managed to get out was, "A-a-an-aaaaaaaaaaahhhgg!"

And Han knew.

Now, here she was, trying to forget it, trying to ignore the spacious hole in her heart, clinging to Han for support. She felt Han move and her eyes fluttered open. She hadn't even realized she was drifting off to sleep. "Alright, it's bedtime," Han said, leaning over her and carefully picking her up into his arms. "No," she muttered, burying her head in his chest. "I can't . . . try."

"I know," Han kissed her head and brought her to their room. "We don't have to." He laid her in bed and laid down next to her, pulling the blankets over their bodies. "We can just lie here. That's all we need to do. Can you do that for me?"

Leia nestled closer to Han, closed her eyes.

"Good. There we go."

"Han?"

"Yeah, Princess?"

"Just stay with me. Forever. Let's never move again. Never leave me again."

"I like that idea." He kissed her again and pulled the blankets over her shoulders. "I'll never leave you again."


	30. With Death Comes Life

That devastated look on her face, it was nearly enough in and of itself to drive Han over the edge with her. He knew she hadn't fallen yet, he wouldn't let her, but it was becoming more of a struggle with each passing moment. What was he supposed to do when he felt the exact same? Weary, wasted, and guilty Han felt and he was ready to let himself and Leia fall over the edge. But he couldn't let Leia fall, too. And she would fall if he didn't keep her up.

Outside the viewport, he watched the speeders pass like normal, like nothing was happening. They carried on with life, went about their daily tasks. It all made Han wish they could hurt like he did.

Suddenly, Han heard a sniffle, the first in a while. He looked to his side where his wife sat, her eyes red from crying, her jaw set in anger, a kind of anger that couldn't be tamed so easily. There came a certain fire to her eyes that Han knew didn't belong there, but he felt that fire in himself and figured it was best not to say anything to Leia. It would only make her even angrier and no one needed that right now. "Leia," Han muttered her name to see if she'd respond. She stiffened, leaned away. "Leia," he repeated, reaching out a gentle hand toward her shoulder. Her grip suddenly tightened around baby Ben who was laid in her protective arms. She flinched away and the mere movement made Han's heart ache that much more.

Just when things had gotten better between them since Chewie's death, why did this have to happen? Why did anything have to happen to threaten his and Leia's marriage once again? All Han wanted to do at that very moment was lay Ben in his crib and wrap his own arms around his wife to comfort her, chase away her torments, try and heal with her. Was that so wrong that they had to suffer even more? With Chewie, Han had been lucky that Leia had cared enough and stayed by his side until he had been ready to come back to hers. He'd always had her there, reaching out, ready to pull him back. Now, she was waiting on him, depending on him to pull her back. And Han wasn't sure that he could. That scared him more than anything.

"Leia," he said a third time, more stern yet soft and gentle, assuring her he only meant to heal with his words. She turned her head to look at him, tears pooling in her fiery, brown eyes. Her jaw shook with each sob she held back and Han wanted those tears to fall, wanted to cry with her and make all the pain go away. But, first, he had to get to her. "Leia, please don't hold it in."

"And why should I take your advice?" she growled. "You held it in. And ran. Why can't I do the same?"

"Because I shouldn't have. And you knew that. Leia, stop it and look at me. Look at me! You wouldn't let me deal with Chewie's death alone and I won't let you deal with Anakin's death alone."

Leia bit her lip, shuddered a sob, and got up to place Ben in the crib Han had moved out to the living room. She stood before him and let the tears fall, tracing a determined path down her face. "You always thank me for holding you up after Chewie, but I can't hold up anymore, Han. I can't!"

"I wouldn't expect you to." Han took her hands from where he sat and gently pulled her down to lie in his lap. He cradled her head to his chest and kissed her atop her head. "I guess we're going to have to help each other, now. I'm here, Leia. I'm back and I'm not leaving ever again. I swear."

Leia slowly eased back against Han's body, relaxing in his hold. The silence turned into one of calmness and Leia rejoiced in it, trying to keep her anger at bay. In his arms, Han held her tight, rocking her, ignoring the world. All that was was just the two of them, wrapped up in each other's arms.

"I still remember when you first told me you were pregnant again. I came home and you seemed really giddy, yet nervous, too. You couldn't sit still, but you kept doing that thing with your hands, the thing you do when you're really stressed or worried. Anyway, you told me we really needed to talk and then you went into this whole rant of muttering about how horrible the timing was and that you didn't want to deal with it right now . . . and I finally took you into my arms to calm you and tears started falling down your face and you told me-"

Then, Leia turned in his grasp so their eyes met. And with a sincerity in her features, a seriousness that worried Han, she touched her hand to his cheek and said, "I'm pregnant, Han."


	31. Skycrawler

If Jaina and Jacen had found out sooner . . .

* * *

Leia relished the faint peace settling over her, the near silence of the med-room, the comfortable pressure of Han's hand every now and then squeezing hers. Han. Han was sitting beside her, his nose buried in tabs of different articles on Viqi Shesh while he simultaneously offered Leia any comfort he could. She was already feeling much better. As rough as their little "adventure" had gone, the little time she'd been back in a med-center recovering had already helped her plenty. And the kids were here as were her brother and sister in-law. With war still raging, Leia knew this peace wouldn't last long. It never did; but she wouldn't let a single moment go to waste.

A soft knock sounded from the other side of the door and Han stood to meet the nurse that entered. "It's time to change the bandages again," she said, crossing the room to Leia's bed.

"I'll leave you, then," Han responded. He planted a kiss atop Leia's head and told her, "And I'll bring back a cold treat just for you."

"Ohhh. Hurry back, then. I love you." She pulled him back down to get another kiss in and Han responded again with a smile, "I know."

He left just as Jaina and Jacen came in. Leia smiled at them, motioned them forward and they both took a seat at the right side of Leia's bed. "I'm glad you both haven't left, yet," she said. "We didn't get much time to talk on Duro. And I hope you two and Anakin didn't cause too much trouble for for your aunt and uncle-"

"Us?" Jaina interrupted with a comical smile, jabbing a thumb at her own chest. "Causing trouble. Are you kidding? Anakin was perfect. We all were. There was no trouble. In fact, we were angels. It was Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara that were the ones causing trouble. You should have been there. They were horrible. Wouldn't listen, kept lying to us . . ."

Jacen nodded, settling back in his chair and crossing his arms. "It's true. I asked them something . . . and they lied about it. They tried changing the subject and answering other things. It's almost like they didn't want us to _know something_."

"You're only half-joking," Leia accused her twins, squinting her eyes. "What happened? I'm your mother. I always know when you're only half-joking."

Jaina burst into laughter, covering her mouth with both hands while Jacen started to explain. "We found something out that we're not supposed to know and they don't know that we know."

"What do you mean? What would they hide from you two?"

"No, Mom," Jaina shook her head, leaning forward as she spoke. "It seems you have also been left out. I know, I know. What a shame. Oh, the pain, the hurt from such betrayal. But it's true. You see, they haven't told you either. And I think it's something you would be very interested in knowing."

Leia, her curiosity growing, cocked a brow. "Tell me! Explain now! I don't like it when you dance around something only to drag on a story! Tell me! What is it?"

Jacen stepped around the bed and kneeled down on his mother's other side. "It' something we've all been waiting a _long_ time to hear."

Jaina kneeeled down, too, nodding, dragging out the word 'long'. "A long, long, _loooooong_ time to hear."

"Jaina, what is it?!"

The Solo twins exchanged a quick look before they answered in unison, "Aunt Mara's pregnant."


	32. Skycrawler Part 2

Could work as a second part to 'Skycrawler' or just as a one-shot about this moment as could have happened had Jaina and Jacen found out when they did.

* * *

Leia was annoyed to say the least. Too busy to even really acknowledge her, Luke was at work fixing a part in the _Jade Shadow_ , the top half of his body hidden under the belly of the ship. Every now and then he would peek out to grab this or that, another tool, a bite to eat, but he wouldn't look at Leia long enough for him to catch her glare. Or maybe he had and he was just ignoring it. The younger sister suspected the latter was more likely. Luke slid out from under the ship again, reaching for a hydrospanner. Leia let him grab it, but stopped him from sliding back under with only her foot. Luke frowned, reaching for the Force to jerk the rolling sled out of Leia's grasp and slide back under, but Leia already had control with her hand and with the Force. "Oh! Look! I can do that, too," Leia taunted him, bringing her arms up to cross them. "Now, would you please stop for a moment so I can talk to you and be sure you're catching my glare?"

"Oh, don't worry, little sis. I caught it. Now, would you mind letting go of the sled?"

"No." Leia simply shook her head, her arms still crossed.

"No?"

"No. Not until you tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"Leia, there is nothing I have to tell you." He stood up and snatched a towel from the cart beside Leia to clean his dirty hands. "You know that if there were I would probably tell you first."

It was enough to fire up Leia and her glare turned to a shocked scorn and she shot out an arm to roughly punch her brother in the shoulder. "Hey!"

"You liar! You dirty, rotten, selfish liar!"

"What on Coruscant was that for?!"

"Jaina and Jacen told me! They told me and I can't believe you still won't tell me, your own sister. Your only family! Your only blood! How _dare_ you!"

Luke froze, cloth still twisted in his own hands. "They told you?"

Leia's features immediately softened and she nodded. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she offered the gesture and Luke turned away, beaming. When he turned back, Leia asked him in a soft voice, "It's true?"

At first, Luke could only nod, falling into his sister's embrace. Then, he answered her, assured her. "Yeah. I'm going to be a father."

Leia hugged him tight, her tears dripping onto his back, but she chuckled when she heard Luke sniffling. "Congratulations, brother. And thank you for finally making me an aunt."


	33. The Greatest Gift

**AN** : I wrote this one for a competition on Wattpad. We had to write a fanfic piece to the theme of 'birthday'. Enjoy!

* * *

"Just think. If it could be any day, any day at all-!"

Smiling, almost laughing, at his overly anxious wife, Han insisted over again, "Sweetheart, I don't need any day, any day at all." Though his eyes remained on his beautiful wife, his hands were laid over her protruding belly on their beautiful children.

Leia frowned, her brows creased, and she tilted her head to the side. "But you deserve it," she responded, one hand rubbing across her belly. Han gave a little chuckled. "But I don't need it. It's okay, Princess. I've survived my life thus far without."

"It must have been hard to survive," Leia joked.

It was only a few days ago, shortly after hers and Luke's birthday, that Leia confronted Han with a matter she found to be very troublesome. "You should get to celebrate your birthday, too," she'd told him and had been at it ever since.

"Leia," he told her now. "Every new year I get to acknowledge that, sometime within the year, I'd turned a year older. I'm perfectly content with that."

"But it's _nothing!"_ Leia objected, her brows creased as she kept up their pointless bickering. Though Han would rather drop the subject because he really, truly didn't care half as much as his wife, it gave her something else to focus on besides the back pain and swollen feet and cravings and everything else. It had been getting harder to keep his heavily pregnant wife cheery with this last month ever so slowly rolling by and _bickering_ , no matter how pointless, kept her mind off all her worries and stress. Not to mention, it kept her tongue and mind sharp. "You deserve to have your own day. Don't you ever wish you knew what day you were born?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Leia. Honey, I don't care that much. The only birthdays I care about are yours and Luke's," Han paused, lowering his gaze and dipping his head to kiss Leia's gloriously rounded belly. "And the twins'. Other than those, sweetheart, I couldn't care less about birthdays."

Leia huffed a sigh, rolling her eyes back and Han figured she was finally giving up. "One day," she said, a mischievous smile flicking across her face. "One day, we're going to celebrate your birthday. If you don't pick a day, I will."

Han smiled softly at her, shaking his head while he reached out and took Leia into his arms. Carefully, he pulled her to the floor with him, Leia sitting against him, all four of their arms caressing her stomach. "Just think," he told her in his softest voice, his breath warm against her skin. "Soon, we're gonna' be celebrating these little ones' birthday." He gave her belly a little pat.

Leia's smile turned warm and she relaxed in his embrace. She moved her hands so one pair over the top of her belly and the other supported the bottom, just at her panty line. "They're resting really low," she told Han. "I don't think it's going to be much longer."

"I hope not."

 ***seventeen hours later***

"Welcome," Leia managed, still fighting to catch her breath as she held both her newborn son and daughter in her arms. "Welcome to the world, Jaina and Jacen Solo." Tears filled her gaze and she craned her neck to look at her husband. His own stare was fixed on their children, tears filling his eyes, too. He reached out to stroke the thin, dark hair on their heads, his eyes filled with complete wonder. "Aren't they amazing?" she asked him.

For a moment, Han could only nod. "Perfect," he answered. He finally managed to tear his gaze away and, when he did, he held Leia's and told her, "Remember the day you told me you were pregnant?"

Leia's smile, already bright, somehow grew and she nodded happily. "It doesn't even feel like that long ago!"

"No, it doesn't. I was just thinking, I want that day to be my birthday." He leaned forward and kissed Leia on the lips, admiring his bigger family. "Because you gave me the greatest gift that day."

Leia found at herself at a loss for words and she struggled for a long moment. "Yeah," she agreed. "I wish that were my birthday." She looked back down to the twins and spoke in a high-pitched, motherly voice, "Did you hear that? Daddy's birthday is a special day for us-"

"But not too special," Han interrupted. "I love this day even more."


	34. Sometimes It's Okay

**AN:** I wrote this for a competition on Wattpad, too. The theme was 'meadow'.

* * *

Eight years. Han Solo had known the princess for eight years and she was still such a marvel to him. The Provisional Council had been keeping her busy all month, practically burying her in mounds of work without second thought as to how _she_ might feel about that. Han still had no idea how she did it, but Leia managed to keep up with their urgent demands, working all day and even into the night. It always steamed Han when he'd stay up, waiting for Leia to return from work, only to go and find her passed out at her desk in her office. First, he always had to smile at her because she was so cute when she slept. Then, he'd pick her up and carry her to his quarters and lie her in his bed.  
Today, though, he'd had enough of this and he wasn't going to let Leia waste another day cooped up in her office, her nose buried in meaningless tabs on one backwater world or another. No, today he was going to teach her a lesson. Sometimes, it's okay to be selfish.

* * *

Stifling a tired and irritated sigh, Leia settled into the backseat of the speeder. "Morning, Kasder," Leia said to the male duros that always drove her from her quarters to work every morning.

"Morning, Princess," he responded in kind, starting their drive with a right turn. Leia frowned. "Um, Kasder, you know this isn't the way to work."

"Oh, I know, Princess, but I was given strict orders from General Solo to not take you to work. Sounds like he's got a surprise waiting for you."

"I don't like the sound of that," Leia muttered. She waited through their long trip which ended up lasting hours until Kasder came to a stop in a large, green field of flowers. With the sun setting, lining up for the horizon, its light cast a beautiful glow on the land, illuminating the flowers. And out of that light came a sight more beautiful than all. "Just what are you up to?" Leia tried to keep her frown as she watched Han approach her. "I had important meetings to att-"

"Important," Han echoed with a small nod. "Mothma says that a lot, don't you think? 'Better not miss this meeting, Leia! It's of dire importance!'"

"Han," Leia said through a sigh. Han finally came close enough to draw her into his arms and drop light, feathery kisses atop her head. "Come on," he begged, stepping away and trying to pull Leia with him. "Please. I thought I'd give you the break you deserve. Can't you relax? Just take the day off and enjoy it." He displayed his hands out to his sides, turning his gaze up to the sky. "Enjoy this beautiful place, this beautiful day." He looked back to Leia. "And it's been a while since I've been able to enjoy the beautiful you."

Try as she might, Leia still blushed at the flirt. She silently cursed herself and folded her arms. "Han, this isn't funny. I have a job, a duty, and I can't just miss a day of work. What I do is important-"

"I know that it's important," Han assured her, gently taking hold of her elbow. "But so are you. What's the last meal you've had?"

Leia pantomimed a headache by raising one hand to her forehead. She shook her head and answered in an irritated voice, "A ration bar for dinner last night. Han, plea-"

" _A_ ration bar? One? No, I brought some food for a picnic and you're going to eat with me."

"Han, I'm not hungry."

"Alright. Then, we'll wait until you are. Until, then . . ." In a single, quick and fluid motion, Han reached for the datapad in Leia's hand and ran away with it in his possession. As soon as she realized what he'd done, Leia became furious and yelled after him. "Han! _**Han**_! This isn't funny! I need that for work!"  
"But you're not working today," Han reminded her, holding her device in the air. "Now, if you want it back, if you really need it, you're gonna' have to come and get it."

Leia growled, bending over to slip off her high heels so she could run after Han. Furious, she started off with as fast as she could go and chased Han down through the meadow, her bare feet padding against the soft, lush, green grass and pink, orange, red, and blue flowers. "Get back here, Han Solo! Give it back, already!"

"I already told you! You have to come and get it!"

Leia continued after him, racing through the field. She neared Han, almost in arm's reach when Han took off in a burst of speed and Leia fell behind again. She stopped for a moment, her hands on her knees while she caught her breath, watching Han as he laughed at her, still running. And then Leia was off again. She couldn't help but laugh at the innocence and peace of the moment, the setting. Somehow, she'd never felt so free, out in the open beauty of nature. There was only one thing that could make this better, she thought. She caught up to Han again, running faster than she thought she could. She ran the last couple feet and jumped onto Han's back. He fell down with a gasp, groaning a little when they hit the ground. Then. He was silent. Fear seized Leia and she quickly rolled off of Han, shaking him, trying to wake him. She rolled him over . . . and his eyes opened as he burst into guffaws of laughter. "Got you," he smirked and Leia playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Not. Funny!"

Han sat up to reach for Leia's shoulders and pulled her back down to the ground, holding her to him, his mouth suddenly going to explore the curve of her neck and the softness of the skin on her shoulders. Leia let herself relax under his touch, let herself become mesmerized by Han. Once again. His fingers brushed lightly on her stomach as he reached under her shirt, tickling the skin there, too. "See?" he mumbled against her right shoulder. "Isn't this nice? Just you and me, alone, outside under the gorgeous sun."

"Mm," Leia moaned, nodding her head, one hand searching for Han's. "You were right. Savor my words. I may never speak them to you again."

Han chuckled. "That's alright, Princess. I don't need to hear you say them. I just need you right here."

"That," Leia smiled, resting her eyes. "I can do."


	35. Comfort Lines

"I still miss Mommy, though," the girl whimpered as Han pulled her blankets up to her shoulders. He planted a kiss on her forehead and told her, "I know, kiddo. I know it's been a rough while for you and I promise we'll go out tomorrow and try to have some fun, but, right now, you need to go sleep. Can you do that for me?" Allana nodded, though she wasn't very convincing and it made Han's smile appear more pitiful as he felt so for her. "Okay. Get some sleep, sweetie. We love you." He left the room, switching a night light on and closing the door gently. In the hall stood Leia, leaning against the wall, dressed in pajamas with her hair done up in a sloppy ponytail. He gestured with his head to their own room and asked, "Ready for bed?"

Not yet taking her gaze off of Allana's door, she shook her head. "I don't think I could if I tried." Han knew it was true, that he would have the same struggle and the two would both be up all night, tossing and turning, trying to pretend that today hadn't happened. He knew she was tired, though. Her eyes encompassed by dark circles and turned down in sorrow, her shoulders slumped, posture weak. Under any other circumstances, Leia would've fallen asleep the second face met pillow. But grief and horror had swallowed her whole and her mind needed the time to process it all, to try and relax, to calm herself so she could focus on helping her granddaughter. If she could help herself first.

"Yeah, you're right." Han came to her side, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back to the living room. "What do you want to do, then? Just watch some holodramas, maybe some old Garik Loran?"

"You said nearly the exact same thing after . . . after Anakin died. You need a different comfort line."

"Yeah, I probably do. Or this could just stop happening to us. How about we just go and lie down, talk? We don't need to sleep tonight."

Leia nodded, walking slowly to bed at Han's side. "That sounds better."


	36. Blame

**AN** : I've always loved _Star By Star_ and how reactions to Anakin's death were portrayed, but I'm ever one for a dramatic grieving.

* * *

When Luke stepped through the doorway, he wasn't prepared for the fist that came flying his way. He just barely dodged it, gasping as it took him by surprise. He got back to his feet and looked before him to see his sister there, her arm rising to deliver another shot. Mara quickly stepped inside from behind Luke and pushed him aside while Lando and Han were already rushing over to restrain Leia. But she didn't stop fighting.

"Where's Ben?" Mara asked, standing between sister and brother, ignoring what had just happened.

Suddenly, Leia jerked herself out of her husband's grasp and shoved past Mara, beating her fists against her brother's chest as she pushed him to a wall. " _ **You killed him!"**_ she screamed, her face red and her voice scratched sore. " _ **You let him die! You let my baby die!"**_ She pounded on him, slapping him, fists repeatedly meeting his chest and ribs. Luke just let her have at it. Han was back, seizing her in his arms, holding her arms behind her back, but Leia was still screaming, her eyes burning with fury. Her Force aura was cold, yet hot like molten lava. She was a volcano, fiery anger pouring from her, burning Luke. She spit at him as Han and Lando pulled her back. She screamed until it hurt, more even. Still caught in Lando and Han's arms, she pounded her feet on the floor, shaking the apartment. From another room, Luke heard Ben crying.

" _ **You let my baby boy die! You**_ _ **killed him**_ **! You killed my baby!"**

Luke didn't say anything, didn't acknowledge her accusation. He knew it was true, from a point of view, from Leia's view. And that was all that mattered. She was right. He hadn't been there to stop it from happening. But he'd been the one to send her son, her children. He'd let his nephew die.

 **"You killed my baby boy! You killed my precious baby boy!"**

One day, Leia would apologize for these words. One day, Luke wouldn't feel the same kind of guilt for it. But for now, it was all either of them could do.


	37. Time of Death

**AN:** This one is actually a drabble! This takes place shortly after Jacen Solo's death.

* * *

"Remember after the Myrkr mission? Jacen was missing and everyone kept telling me that he was dead?"

Leia spoke up suddenly and it startled Jaina. She looked up from her lap, tearing her gaze from her brother's lightsaber which lay in her lap. Frowning, curious as to what on Coruscant her mother was thinking about, Jaina reminded her, "But you didn't believe them."

Leia frowned back, meeting her daughter's gaze. She shook her head, her woe surfacing to her eyes, shining in the tears that were ready to fall. She told Jaina, sadly, "I should have. They were all right."


	38. When I Found Out My Mother's Secret

**AN** : Currently running through lists of writing prompts.  
Going through Pinterest, this one merely said, _'when I found out my mother's secret_ '.  
P.S. this is in Jaina Solo's POV

* * *

I consider it a secret. She never told me, did she? It was her closely guarded secret and, yet, I should have known. When I discovered my mother's secret, we finally understood each other. All the years of strain between us, all the years of misunderstanding and contempt vanished, dissipated. The haze that had settled between us dropped like a heavy curtain and I could finally run into her arms and find comfort. I'd found a haven.

I found out her little secret while joining my parents on an off-world mission to New Alderaan. Alright, I suppose it was more of a trip than a mission. We met Winter,who was thrilled to see me again after so long, there. "My goodness, you're not so little anymore!" she'd exclaimed, throwing out her arms as an invitation for a hug. This being Winter who had practically raised me, I flew into her arms, just as happy to be seeing her again. From the corner of my eye, though, I caught the light and almost forced looking smile Mom was wearing. I tried to shake it off, but there was something about it that bothered me.

We joined Winter and her husband Tycho for some caf at their place, enjoying some light conversation while Winter continued to marvel at how much I've apparently grown and she kept asking what I've been up to since we'd last talked. She wanted to know everything and, with every question Winter asked and each time she'd settle a hand on my knee or shoulder or sweep my bangs past my ears, I could feel Mom's discomfort growing through the Force, becoming denser than a horrible fog on Yavin. I tried ignoring it, but it almost turned to irritation when Winter started showing me a picture of the two of us and Jacen when we lived with her here on New Alderaan. Mom grimaced.

Finally, I had had enough and I spun on her, demanding, "What on Coruscant is wrong?!" She looked taken aback and everyone else had gone silent, but Mom and I held each other's gaze. "Would you please stop tossing that look and tell me what's bothering you?" She didn't say anything. Her eyes flicked with a stab of pain, but I had no idea from what. But why? She ran from the room and Winter slowly stood to hold my shoulders and tell me, "I think you should go talk to her. I may have . . ." She suddenly let go of my shoulders and winced. "Played with a sore spot. Look, Jaina, your mother had a tough time handing you and your brothers into my care when you were younger. I should have known better than to . . . revert back to treating you like my daughter. You aren't my daughter. Your mom," Winter laughs, half nervously, half fondly. "She did the hard things for you three. She handed you over to me. It was awful for her. She hated it. She could hardly physically let you go when it was time." Winter gains a small smile at a wondrous memory as she tells me, "She cried. I'd never seen her cry before, but there she was. Bawling."

I consider it a secret. She never told me, did she? It was her closely guarded secret and, yet, I should have known. She's always cared for me, always loved me. Like Winter said, she did things the hard way because she knew it was best for us, her being apart from us. I finally understood and I could share that pain with her. When I found out my mother's secret, she became my best friend.


	39. Runs In the Family

Dialogue Prompt:  
 _"Well, that's . . ._ _twisted of_ _her."_  
 _"I think it runs in the family."_  
I really feel like Corran (or Mara!) or someone else from the EU Jedi Council would say this about the Solos!

"It's a bit late, don't you think?" Allana Solo asked of her boyfriend Chance Calrissian as he tried handing her a single flower with a long, purple stem. Masters Corran Horn and Kyle Katarn watched on, snickering.  
"I'm sorry, Lana. I was-"  
" _Busy_. So you already told me. Not hanging with your friends last night, partying while I wondered when my own boyfriend would at least call to wish me a happy Life Day." While she spoke, Allana just nodded. Accepting the green, spiky flower, she said, "My cousin told me." She snapped the stem and crushed the flower's petals under her boot. Then, she proceeded to reach out with the Force and pull down Chance's pants, walking away without another word.  
Kyle just watcher her, wide-eyed. "Well, that's . . . twisted of her."  
Corran shook his head. "I think it runs in the family."


	40. Traitor

Dialogue Prompt:  
 _"They say I'm a traitor. Maybe I am. All I know is I did what I had to do_."  
Takes place after Jaina kills Jacen/Darth Caedus

Han and Leia stopped in the doorway, seeing their daughter lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling as though _it_ were the cause of her misery. They slowly entered. "How are you, kid?"  
Jaina looked up. "The reports are driving me mad. They don't understand."  
Leia sat at her side, frowning, and nodded. "I know. They'll never understand. What you did, it couldn't be helped. Jacen's been gone for a long time."  
"They say I'm a traitor. Maybe I am. All I know is I did what I had to do."


	41. Chewie's Chair

This missing moment is EU-canon, expanding slightly on a scene in the New Jedi Order novel Rebel Dream.

* * *

"What are you looking at?" she asked without any other greeting as she entered the cockpit.

Han glanced at his wife before turning back to the planet on one of his screens. "Coruscant."

"I _know_ it's Coruscant," she stated obviously, dropping into her chair beside him. "I mean-" Leia cut herself off as she brought her hands up to the arm rests and found that she could comfortably sit back in her chair without having to hoist herself up into the seat. "Han?"

His smile was automat. "Yes, dear?"

"Something's wrong with my chair," she declared with a deep frown like something was really upsetting her.

"What's wrong with it? It looks perfect. _It looks like it fits."_

Leia snapped her gaze up to meet his and Han nearly beamed at the look of dismay that then crossed her face. "That's it! This chair shouldn't fit!" She threw her head around to study the copilot's seat then looked to her feet. "I can touch the floor! Han?" But then her look melted, her shoulders relaxed and she turned back to Han with big eyes full of sorrow. "You took out Chewie's chair."

Han could only nod for a moment, glancing down the chair as he studied how Leia looked in it, making sure he'd ordered just the right size. "Yeah. I thought my new copilot deserved a nice new chair."

"Oh, Han! But this was Chewie's chair! You didn't have to-!"

"Yes, I did," he told her sternly, taking closer hand and squeezing it. "I couldn't sit here one more time and watch you in that seat, just hoping that our next jump to hyperspace won't eject you from that seat."

Leia looked stunned, appreciative but uneasy. "But that was- _Chewie's_ chair."

"Yeah," Han agreed, some of his remaining sadness seeping into his voice. But Leia, he'd found, held the ability to numb that pain- the non-magical salve he'd been searching the galaxy for. She'd been under his nose that entire time.

Han leaned over and left a kiss atop her head. "But now, this is _your_ chair."


	42. New Night Terrors

She didn't wake to her mother's cries but the echo of them. The Force called for her attention like silverware tapping away at a glass. _Tap, tap, tap._ Something's wrong, the Force was telling her. At first, it was a vague feeling, a simple, general notion that Jaina recognized as well as her own face. Jaina took a calming breath, letting herself wake up before she reached out, delving deeper into the Force and searching for more of an explanation. At once, her mother's presence came to mind and Jaina became aware of Leia's alarming state. Her aura flashed with fear, guilt, a profound sadness that could never truly fade. A scar that would never heal.

 _Then,_ Jaina was awake and she heard the screaming. From her room, she could even hear the boards and rackety springs of the bed scrape against each other in protest of the body spasming across the mattress.

Jaina threw aside her bedsheets and broke into a sprint down the short corridor. She tapped at the door with the Force and had it rising open for her before she could see it. When she ran in, she saw her mother thrashing on the mattress, her legs and arms tangled up in the sheets while she gave an unending, guttural, throaty scream. Jaina's first response was to jump on top of her, holding her down to prevent her from injuring herself. "Mom," she spoke firmly, holding her head between both hands. "Mom, wake up. It's me." She threw herself into the throes of the Force, grabbing Leia with her and making her feel the warmest, most reassuring feelings she could send. The shock woke Leia and she sat up with a startled gasp, panting. "It's okay. I'm here. It's me."

Jaina had dealt with her mother's nightmares several times before, but she still wished her father were here. He had years, decades of experience of helping Leia through tough nights and horrid nightmares and he was much better at comforting her in these situations. But he was gone for just the weekend, out visiting Chewie's family on Kashyyyk, leaving his wife and daughter to have a weekend together. Jaina knew her mother's nightmares to have a spontaneous when not constant history, but it still took her by surprise and she didn't know where to start in guessing what this one was about. That's where her father always started.

"You're here!" Leia panted, reaching for her daughter's hand, pulling her closer.

"Of course. I'm sleeping in the guest room, remember?"

Leia ignored this explanation, reaching up to stroke Jaina's hair. "You're still here."

"Mom. What happened in your nightmare?"

Leia finally looked her in the eyes, a darkness looming in her gentle brown irises. "I lost you too," she cried quietly.

Jaina's face fell. She didn't know what to say to comfort this mother who had lived to see both her sons die, so Jaina forgot about words. She pulled the blankets over so she could lie with her mother. Wordlessly, Leia calmed and held her daughter close. Jaina noticed, amused, that she began playing with her hair between her fingers like she used to do when Jaina was a small child. She just let her until her breaths evened and mother fell asleep holding child. Her only child.


	43. Fact

**AN:** Just some mindless silliness I felt the need to write down.

* * *

Allana grinned wildly at her aunt, easily keeping up with the brisk pace Jaina was hurrying down the hall in. She threw her chin over her shoulder and looked back down the hall behind her. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"What was that? That little look you gave Master Durron?"

"Allana, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, please! You don't have to lie to me! I already know about you two."

"Allana Solo, what are you talking about?"

"Mom told me you two have a past with each other. She's told me lots of stories."

"Then, she's fooling you. Master Durron has been a good friend of mine for a long time. Anything more-" She flipped her hand. "Is nonsense."

"Are you saying my mom just made up these stories? She lied to me?"

Jaina flashed her a glare.

"Because I know my mother doesn't just tell stories."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes! I know she wasn't just making things up because Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo Isolder has only one rule."

"And what is that?"

"Fact!"


End file.
